Do You Have The Time?
by Lunabeegood
Summary: Each morning Hermione wakes in either 1997 or 1977. She has Severus Snape as a friend, encounters the Maurauders and tries to help her teachers, both past and present, solve this problem.
1. Chapter 1

Hermione Granger slowly woke from the strangest dream. As she tried to pull together the pieces of it they drifted away from her like morning wisps. Shaking her head she lazily went through her morning calendar. She had double potions followed by a break, then lunch with Ron and Harry, then Arithmancy...

"Oh, I have to remember to ask professor Vector..." she started.

"Shhh!" a voice whispered from beyond her sealed bed curtains.

Hermione jumped. As Head Girl she had a room of her own, one that was heavily warded by herself, and one where no others should be. She grabbed her wand and snapped the drapery back. She saw three other curtained beds around her and heard various people shifting in their bedcovers.

"Hello?" She asked, tentatively.

"Shhhh Mione, I need some more sleep or I'll never get through Divination," a voice warned her.

Hermione looked around the room. It was Gryffindor, judging by the colours but the voice wasn't familiar. And how did she fall asleep in someone else's rooms?

A curtain snapped open and a young woman groggily threw her feet over the side of the bed and, half asleep, walked toward the door.

"Morning Mione," she muttered with a yawn as she passed an awestruck Hermione. It was a girl Hermione had never seen before in her life.

"Excuse me..." Hermione called after her but she was gone before she heard the confused young woman.

Just then another curtain snapped open and a cheerful face greeted her. "It's December! That means only 3 weeks until the break and I can see Filippe again!"

"Hi, uh..." Hermione muttered as she looked at the other stranger. "My room is..."

"I know, I spoke with Glynnis last night and she promises to clean up, TODAY, right Glynnis?" the young woman called to the still curtained bed.

A muffled moan came from inside the curtains.

"Glynnis!" the smiling girl called to her again.

"Okay, I promise, I promise!" Someone moaned from inside the bed.

"I'm sorry there seems to be a misunderstanding," Hermione began as she got off her bed and approached the young woman who was speaking to her.

"No misunderstanding Hermione!" the young woman laughed. "Glynnis got your message loud and clear last night. Didn't you Glynnis?"

"Feck off Matilda!" Glynnis yelled.

"No, what I mean to say is..."

"No hot water, again," the half asleep woman said as she walked back into the room.

"Aww Shite!" Glynnis said as she pushed back the curtains and stomped on the floor. "I can't go to class with this ink in my hair!"

Just then Hermione looked at Glynnis and noticed that all the tips of her blonde hair were a black ink colour.

"Thank Hermione for that one," the half- asleep girl giggled.

"Thanks Mione," Glynnis said with a slight snap to her voice.

"I told you to shower last night," the half-asleep girl said as she pulled out clothes from her trunk.

"Thanks for the advice Lavinia," Glynnis said as she stuck out her tongue. "I'm going to see if Lily will let me use her Head Girl bath and..."

"Head Girl!" Hermione snapped.

"It's been months Hermione, you'd think you'd be over it my now," Matilda said softly as she pulled on a stripped sweater over her skirt.

"Who's the Head Girl?" Hermione asked as she approached Matilda.

"Lily Evans, you know that and you still can't believe it," Matilda said as she patted her shoulder. "You better get ready or you'll miss breakfast and be late for Divination."

"I don't take Divination!" Hermione snapped.

"Just keep telling yourself that," Glynnis said as she patted Hermione on the shoulder. "Maybe wishes will come true."

She walked past Hermione and out the door.

Matilda picked up her satchel and, throwing it over her shoulder whipped past Hermione calling "Don't be late!" over her shoulder.

"You better hurry Hermione, Proudfoote is trying to get the full-time position that Dumbledore announced and you know how she is about lates," Lavinia said as she madly threw clothes from her trunk onto her bed.

"We're in 7th year?" Hermione asked. "And Lily Evans is Head Girl and James Potter is Head Boy?"

"Yeah, and you're still sleeping maybe?" Lavinia smiled at her good-naturedly as she pulled on odd clothes and grabbed her robe. "There's no place like home, Dorothy."

"Only muggle-borns know that," Hermione smiled at the girl.

"Which is why everyone looks at us strangely when we say it," Lavinia smiled at her as she shoved her feet into shoes. "Now, get a move on!"

She swatted Hermione on the ass and trotted from the room sorting out her book bag as she went.

Hermione took a moment to look around the room and take in her environment. There was a wizarding calendar on the far wall turned to December 1977. The clothes Lavinia had left all over her bed were retro in nature. Lily Evans was head girl and James Potter, head boy.

"I've gone back in time," Hermione said softly as she sat heavily on her bed.

************************************************** 

Having had no luck visiting Professor Dumbledore in his office, Hermione made her way to Divination. She was perturbed when he didn't answer his door and, when she inquired, was told he was out of school for the day.

She found herself looking around in awe of her surroundings. Everyone sported retro 70's hairdos, some of which worked and some that didn't. But, despite the clothes and hair, students in robes, surprisingly, looked not much different than in 1997. She had actually had an interesting time in the morning coming across clothes she was unfamiliar with but despite time travel her hair was just as problematic. She hoped Dumbledore could explain why she was here in 1977 and how she could return to 1997. She also hoped he could explain why everyone seemed to know her as if she always existed here.

"If you can't be quiet there is no way you'll be able to find your inner eye," a young woman in long colourful robes said in a dreamy voice as she circled the class.

"Um, Ma'am," Hermione said softly as she stood at the door hoping to disturb the class as little as possible.

"Hermione Granger, late again I see?" the woman, Professor Proudfoote said as she circled to face the young student. "While some people seem to make a habit of coming late to this class, I would hope they wouldn't disturb those who arrived on time."

"Sorry Ma'am I..."

"Miss Mackabee has also not graced us with her presence today, so you'll need to be paired with Mr. Snape while Ms. Willows gets over her unfortunate hex from yesterday."

Hermione's head shot toward the young gangly man who was sitting to her left on a velour pouf and looking extremely uncomfortable. Professor Severus Snape, as his younger self. She couldn't help but gawk as she made her way over to the table he sat at.

"Severus," she said as she sat on a pouf across from him.

"Hermione," he countered with a nod.

"Close your eyes and as you hold your partner's hands clear your mind of all impediments," Professor Proudfoote said in a soothing voice.

It was then that Hermione looked around and saw that everyone was holding hands across the table. She then noted that Severus Snape had his hands extended toward her, palms up, waiting for her to join him. She placed her hands against the warm palms of her future potions professor.

"Now feel the other person," Professor Proudfoote started and was greeted with giggles. "Feel their energy as it flows from their body to yours..."

Hermione shifted uncomfortably and peeked out of one eye to see that Snape was not moving and seemed to be focused. The class continued to giggle.

"As their life force enters you, look with your inner eye into their heart..."

"What heart?" someone at the front of the room snickered.

"Witches and wizards, please!" Professor Proudfoote snapped. "You need focus to do this activity! The next outburst will deserve a detention and 20 points lost."

"As you look into their heart, I want you to see their greatest fear, the thing that they most would be scared of..." she droned on.

Hermione heard someone huff loudly at the table next to her. She peeked and saw that it was Matilda's partner, a boy with Ravenclaw robes.

"Once you have a clear picture of that scary place, write down your findings in your journal" Professor Proudfoote directed them.

She felt Snape's hands drop from hers and when she looked at him he was leaning over his journal scribbling madly. It surprised her that he took the subject so seriously.

Hermione pulled out a journal from her satchel and wrote a fear she knew about Snape. He feared being rejected. She knew this from Harry's venture into Snape's mind during Occulemency class. She also could divine from the way he treated his students that he put up a harsh front to avoid being rejected by them. Reject others before they reject you seemed to be his motto.

"Once you are done writing, I want you to share your findings with your partner and observe how accurate or inaccurate they may be," Professor Proudfoote explained.

Hermione watched as Snape continued to write madly across from her. She looked at the one word she'd written on the page before her and bit her bottom lip wondering if she hadn't done enough. Just as she was about the start writing again she looked up to see Professor Proudfoote staring down at Snape with an inexplicable expression.

"You are always so intuitive Severus," she said kindly.

"Thank you Professor," Severus said politely as he covered his page protectively with his hand.

Hermione looked between teacher and student and felt some sort of static in the air. Severus broke their bond first and then Professor Proudfoote seemed to move onto another pair.

She spent most of the class watching Snape as he delved into her heart and mind and then madly wrote notes afterwards. The sharing part was simple and they spoke of nothing outside of the class instruction. At the end of class she was packing up her bag when Matilda tapped her on the shoulder.

"I'm going up to the tower to see if Glynnis got that ink out of her hair yet," she smiled. "She didn't even make it to any of this class."

"Uh, okay?" Hermione asked.

"I'll meet you in Charms in 15," Matilda said quietly before she flew out of the class.

"Are you sure you can't stay, Severus?" Professor Proudfoote asked silkily. "I could write you a note for..."

"No, I'm sorry professor," Snape said as he quickly packed up his bag. "We have a test in Arithmancy today."

"Oh, pity," she said as she rolled a strand of hair between her fingers.

Hermione looked at the pair and then noticed she was the only other person in the room. And, it seemed, Professor Snape was romantically involved with the Divination Professor.

"How about tonight after supper? I can show you my latest crystal ball...it's from Russia and..."

"Again, I'm sorry professor but I promised my potions partner we'd work on our project tonight and..."

"Put them off Severus," she snapped slightly.

"I, uh..." Severus stammered and shifted his feet uncomfortably.

It was in that moment that Hermione realized the relationship may only be one-sided.

"I'll see you tonight in the library Severus for our potions project?" Hermione asked innocently.

Snape turned and looked at her surprised.

"I can't afford to lose the marks," Hermione said as she looked at him pointedly, hoping she was helping the situation and not making a fool of herself.

"Uh, yeah, in the library after dinner, right?" Severus asked, relieved.

"I'll see you then," Hermione said with a tight-lipped smile as she saw the gratitude in his eyes.

"Wait! I wanted to talk with you about gathering ingredients," he called to her as he threw his satchel over his shoulder.

"Uh, sure," Hermione said as she waited for him to join her.

"I'll see you next class Professor Proudfoote," Severus said politely as they turned at the exit door.

"Have a good evening Severus and I'm sure I'll see you before then," Professor Proudfoote grinned at him. "Good day Miss Granger."

"Good day, Professor Proudfoote," Hermione said back as she looked carefully at the young teacher.

Once they rounded the corner and were two halls away Severus finally spoke.

"Thank you for that," he said as he leaned in to her ear. It was as if he was scared Professor Proudfoote could still hear them somehow.

"You, uh...you looked uncomfortable," Hermione whispered back.

"She's been trying to get in my pants all term and I running out of excuses to not be alone with her," Severus said quietly as he looked over his shoulder.

"Why don't you say something to Dumbledore?" Hermione asked as she too looked around wondering who they were hiding from as they walked.

"I can take care of the situation myself," Severus said full of pride.

"Oh yeah, that was working so well back there," Hermione noted. Then was surprised at how easily she spoke to her severe professor.

"I was going to come up with something," he said forcefully.

"As you stammered and shifted?" She asked, jokingly. "She's really got it for you, huh?"

"She's only 3 years older than us and she seems to have set her sights on me for some unknown reason," he said disdainfully as they approached the Great Hall.

"Why do you think you?" Hermione asked, genuinely interested. "And really, can't you just say you're not interested?"

"First of all, I need my Divination grade to be high to get into Oxford," he said as he stopped mid stride and held onto her arm to halt her as well. "And secondly, I think...I think she picked me because our families vacationed together this summer and there was and incident..."

"What incident?" She asked, interested. She half wondered if this look at Snape as a young man with teen issues would change her general opinion of him or give her some glimpse of why he became so hateful.

"Some mermaids took her clothes and..."

"Wait, how would mermaids have access to her clothes?" Hermione stopped him.

Severus sighed and shifted his feet and then looked around. "Our families are friends, and even though she's my professor, I have to live with the consequences of my actions even after I leave Hogwarts. I can't tell on her to Dumbledore despite my discomfort."

"You still haven't said what the incident was," Hermione reminded him.

"A bunch of us were skinny dipping, it was a group thing in the middle of the night and when the mermaids stole her clothes I offered my shirt for her to wear. She took it as a chivalrous act and has been smitten with me since. It made the remainder of the vacation quite uncomfortable."

"But nothing...?" Hermione found herself asking. She hadn't ever seen this side to her professor.

"Gods no!" Severus said loud enough to turn heads. He pulled Hermione over to a spot closer to the wall. "Don't breathe a word of this in the Gryffindor Common room or anywhere else. I appreciate your help but wouldn't think twice about a well-placed hex if word of this got out!"

Hermione sighed. That was the man she knew.

"I wouldn't think of it," she said with a grin. "And you're welcome."

She walked away from him and didn't look back.

Hermione Granger rolled onto her side and shifted under the covers as the chill crept across her face. She had had no luck speaking with Dumbledore yesterday, but was told he would be back today at some point. Groggily she thought about her encounter with Snape and how different yet similar he appeared. Why she decided to involve herself in his issue with Professor Proudfoote was beyond her reasoning. She decided to chalk it up to Gryffindor courage.

She had spent last night in the company of her three roommates Glynnis, Matilda and Lavinia and had gleaned a wealth of information from them. She, apparently, had always been at Hogwarts and they had been roommates since the start. She was from muggleborn parents who, from the looks of them in the one photo she discovered, looked remarkably like her parents. Not exactly, but close. Her parents names also seemed to be Rose and Martin, not the same as her real parents.

House rivalry was strong amongst the boys, but not taken nearly as seriously by the girls. All of her roommates had friends or boyfriends in other houses and there seemed to be no issue with that. She had met Lily Evans and James Potter briefly in the hall and had noticed Sirrius and Remus across the room in two of her classes but had not spoken with them as yet. Minerva McGonagall was teaching Transfiguration, Professor Slughorn Potions, Professor Sprout Herbology and Madam Pomfey was in the Clinic but all her other teachers were different. A girl names Aurora Lowe in her Charms class had a remarkable resemblance to Madam Sinistra but she wasn't sure of her teacher's first name.

Hermione flicked her curtains open expecting to be greeted by the sights and sounds of her roommates and found herself in her Head Girl bedroom. She looked around, puzzled. Was it all a dream? If it was, if was the most realistic dream she had ever experienced. Wiping her eyes with her fists she noted that nothing changed. She pinched herself hard.

"Ow!" she yelled into the empty room.

Then, her door slammed open and Ginny Weasley stomped through it.

"The boys have done something to our pipes again!" She yelled as she pointed toward the door. "There's no hot water, again."

"Ginny!" Hermione said as she jumped from her bed and gave her friend a hug. Ginny was one of the few people who Hermione granted complete access to her rooms and wards.

"What's up with you?" Ginny asked, looking at her strangely.

"I...I had the weirdest dream last night and well...I'm sorry," Hermione shook her head clear. "What was that about the pipes?"

"The boys must have spelled them again because they are all laughing in their dorm and we have no hot water," Ginny explained.

"Give me a minute and I'll sort it out," Hermione smiled at her friend as she donned her robes.

"Thanks, Mione," Ginny said nicely as she walked back out the door.

Hermione took one last look around her room and then left to sort out the water situation.

************************************************** *

"It was very realistic," Hermione said to Harry as they walked into the potions classroom for their double lesson.

"Sounds like it," he grinned at her. "How's my parents seem?"

Hermione wrapped her arm around his shoulder and gave him a squeeze. "Happy."

Harry smiled shyly at her. "Even if it was just a dream it's good to know that they..."

"Books out!" Snape snapped from the front of the room. "Turn to page 362 and someone tell me why today of all days we should be brewing this potion."

Hermione and Harry shuffled quickly to their table and flipped open their books.

"At least your dream Snape is nicer than the real one," Harry muttered to Hermione a little too loudly. All the students around them turned with shocked expressions to look at Hermione.

She turned pitch red and stammered to them all, "it's not what you think."

"What's not what we think Miss Granger?" Snape asked as he walked toward her desk.

"Uh, nothing, sir," she said as her face grew more red.

"Then perhaps you have the answer to my question?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

She looked at her book and saw that they were brewing a solstice potion and for the life of her she didn't know what the answer to his question was.

"No?" He asked snidely.

"Uh, I'm sorry sir; I don't know what you..."

"Anyone else?" Snape asked as he turned away from her.

The class was silent.

"Perhaps if you Miss Granger had done your preparation and merely looked at a calendar this morning you would not look like an idiot now," he said as he walked back toward the front of the room.

"How long does it say the potion must brew for, Miss Granger?"

"Uh, 3 weeks sir," Hermione answered as her face grew more red and she started to tremble slightly.

"And with today being December first and the solstice taking place...Mr. Malfoy?"

"Three weeks from now, sir. So brewing has to take place today if the potion is to be viable," Draco said smugly as he smiled at the professor.

"Exactly," Snape said as he smiled at Draco. "20 points to Slytherin."

"Thank you, sir," Draco said.

"And a 40 point loss to Gryffindor for Miss Granger's ineptitude," Snape said as he turned on a projector.

"The winter solstice potion..." he started to lecture.

"What a prat," Harry hissed next to her.

Hermione just buried her face in her textbook and waited for her heart to stop hammering in her chest. She couldn't believe that in her dream she was nice to him.

************************************************** **

Hermione laid in bed chastising herself. Yesterday Professor Snape had made her look like a fool in class. It didn't matter that every other day of the week she had the correct answer for him, no, what only mattered was that she didn't have the answer yesterday. He was an infuriating man!

Hermione sat up and snapped back her curtains, what she needed was a...

"What the hell?" Hermione asked as she looked around at the other curtained beds.

Three other Gryffindor beds were surrounding her. She opened and closed her eyes multiple times and they didn't disappear. She pinched herself hard

"Ow!" She snapped before she rubbed her arm gently.

"Shit!" She heard a deep voice say from behind one of the curtains.

She turned to the sound, saw rustling and whispering behind the drapes.

Matilda snapped back her curtains and skipped over to the calendar to mark off December the 1st. "Only 20 days until school is done and then I have Fillippe for 3 glorious weeks!"

When she turned she saw the awkward rustling behind the one bed and Hermione saw anger rise up in the young woman. She marched over to the bed and snapped back the curtain. Inside Sirrius Black and Glynnis were haphazardly donning clothes.

"Glynnis!" Matilda yelled.

"Shhh! You'll wake up the whole bloody dorm!" Glynnis said as she pulled a shirt over her torso.

"Sirrius, you will be expelled if they find you in here again!" Matilda warned him. "Hermione, tell him!"

Hermione had been anchored to one spot the entire time, not believing the sight before her. She couldn't speak.

"He wasn't going to stay but we fell asleep," Glynnis explained as she got out of bed and pulled on a pair of pyjama pants over her underwear.

"Ladies," Sirrius said gallantly as he pulled on a pair of pants under the covers and stood to do up the snaps. He was extremely handsome and well built Hermione noted.

"That better not be who I think it is!" Lavinia yelled as she pulled open her own curtains. "Glynnis you promised!"

"It just sort of..." Glynnis said as she looked at Lavinia innocently.

"He won't commit to you! Just last week he was all over Ramona Puce and the week before that..."

"I'm still in the room you know?" Sirrius noted with disdain. "At least wait until I leave before you..."

"Get out!" Matilda said as she charmed a pillow to hit him on the side of his head. "And don't come back!"

"It's been lovely," Sirrius said as he kissed Glynnis quickly. "But I sense a hex coming and...Lavinia put down that wand!"

"You have until the count of three and than I'm practicing some new spells that may or may not involve crabs," she warned him as she raised her wand.

Sirrius bolted from their room and slammed the door behind him.

"Glynnis, how could you?" Lavinia asked disappointed. "He's just using you for sex and toying with your emotions."

She walked out of the room without a backward glance.

"We were sleeping only a few feet away," Matilda said as she grabbed a towel. "It's just plain rude."

She too walked from the room and Glynnis sat dejectedly on her bed and starred at Hermione.

"Not you too?" Glynnis said to Hermione.

"I...I don't know what to think," Hermione said as she turned toward her trunk and pulled out some clothes. She wasn't really talking about Glynnis' situation per say but it applied anyways.

Glynnis flopped back on her bed and sighed.

************************************************** ************

"The Headmaster is tied up in meetings today, but he does have an opening tomorrow morning at 10 am," the matronly ghost said to Hermione as she floated in front of his door.

"It is of the utmost urgency," Hermione pleaded. "Isn't there any way...?"

"You are lucky there was a cancellation," the ghost said as she snapped a book shut. "Normally it's a one week waiting period. Can this not be dealt with by your Head of House?"

"I don't...I think I should see Dumbledore first," Hermione stammered.

"I will see you tomorrow morning then," the secretary ghost said before she turned from Hermione and floated back through a wall.

Hermione sighed heavily and stood staring at the wall for quite some time.

"It can't be that bad, it's only 8 am," a familiar voice said from behind her.

She closed her eyes. The last person she wanted to encounter was Severus Snape. After the way he had treated her...yesterday? Or twenty years from now...whatever, she was not pleased to be around him.

He walked around so he was between her and the wall she was starring at and she found herself looking at his chest. He leaned down and looked her in the eye. "Is everything okay?"

The look of concern and honesty on her professor's young face was highly disconcerting. So much so that she burst into tears, an act she would never have wanted to do in front of him.

"Hermione?" He asked, surprised as he rubbed her shoulder. "What's the matter?"

His voice was gentle and soft, not at all like she was used to. It was hard to reconcile this Snape with the one who called her an idiot in class.

She took two gasping breaths in an attempt to bring her breathing under control but found herself crying even harder. She wasn't dreaming, she was back in 1977 and nothing made sense. She knew that Dumbledore would figure it out but, somehow, she had to wait until tomorrow and get through today.

It was then that she noticed that Snape had guided her to a nearby bench and was asking her to sit with him.

"It can't be that bad," he said softly as he placed a comforting arm around her shoulder. "You're pretty smart so it's not grades. You have loads of friends and seem to enjoy them. Is it your family, has an owl arrived with bad news?"

She shook her head in the negative. He was being decent, despite his future self's inadequacies she felt drawn to him.

"I...I am just worried about NEWTS and I got word about the standards for a school I was considering and..." she lied through her teeth.

"You want Dumbledore's advice?" He asked, somewhat relieved it wasn't more serious.

"Yes," she sighed. "He'll know what I should do."

"He will," Snape agreed as he reached for a cloth in his pocket and handed it to her.

"Thank you," she said as she took it. "I feel like an idiot, crying like this."

She then stiffened at her own use of term he had just used to describe her in the future.

"Hermione, you are the farthest thing from an idiot I could ever imagine," he smiled gently at her.

She smiled back at the compliment.

A crowd of boys was passing them in the hall and Hermione ducked her head lower so others wouldn't notice her tears.

"Make her cry by looking at her Snivellus?" a voice teased.

Hermione's head snapped up and she saw James Potter laugh at his own comment.

"Feck off Potter," Snape said as he sat up straight, shoulders back.

"A gob like his, I'd cry too!" James joked as the group walked around the corner.

"Arse wipe," Snape mumbled under his breath as he shifted uncomfortably next to her and dropped his arm back to his side.

"He teases you a lot?" Hermione asked.

"It makes him feel like a big man to treat others so poorly," Snape noted as he looked beyond her. "He doesn't get to me though."

"He doesn't does he?" She asked as she looked at the pained expression on Snape's face.

Severus then stood abruptly and nodded toward her. "I trust you are fine and can make it to class?"

"Uh, yes, thank you," she said noting the change in tone.

"Dumbledore will help you," Snape said assuredly. "Trust him."

"I will," Hermione agreed before she watched him walk away.

************************************************** ***************

Hermione woke with a start as she heard the wards in her room open and someone shuffle inside and lean against the door. She hazily wondered it Glynnis had stayed with Sirrius last night.

"Mione you gotta help me," Ron's voice called to her. Her eyes widened and she flipped open her curtains to find herself back in her Head Girls Room. Ron was standing just inside her door pulling up his pants and trying to put on a shoe at the same time.

"Ronald, what are you doing?" She snapped.

"McGonagall decided to do another surprise inspection first thing and I fell asleep in Lavender's bed and..."

"Ron!" She gasped.

"Mione, it'll never happen again, if you can just help me get out of this bind..." Ron was pleading as she hopped on one foot trying to tie his shoe.

"So getting caught in my room and getting me in trouble as well was your bright solution?" Hermione said as she got out of bed and fastened a robe around herself.

"Come on Mione, there's got to be a..." Ron started but was interrupted by Professor McGonagall walking into Hermione's room.

"Miss Granger, I am shocked!" She gasped as she looked at Ron's dishevelled appearance and her bathrobe.

"Professor, I can explain!" Hermione said loudly.

"I would be interested in the explanation. You are Head Girl and the standards that are expected of you are..."

"Minerva?" A deep voice called.

Hermione winced. It was Professor Snape.

"Come in Severus, everyone is decent...now," she stressed.

Hermione saw her wards shimmer before Professor Snape walked inside and looked at the scene before him.

"Ah," he said with a sneer as he looked pointedly at Hermione and Ron. "I was going to report that only the Weasley boy was missing from the boys dorms but I see you have located him."

"It's not what it looks like Professor," Hermione pleaded to McGonagall.

"It looks like I now know why our Head Girl's performance in Potions has been suffering," Snape said as he paced her room. "Her attentions have been elsewhere and her sleep...interrupted."

"Professor!" Hermione gasped. "We are not sleeping together!"

"The evidence would suggest otherwise, Miss Granger," he said with an air of disgust before he snapped at Ron. "Do up your pants, boy!"

Ron's hands immediately went to his zipper which he did up quickly and with a red face.

"Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, Hermione didn't do anything wrong. I was..."

"We don't need the details Mr. Weasley," Minerva said sharply. "I would like to see you both in detention this evening. I have some cupboards that need sorted and perhaps that will tire you out."

"Professor, please listen to Hermione," Ron pleaded.

"After the evening meal, in my classroom," she said before she looked at Ron. "It's now time for you to leave Mr. Weasley."

Ron looked at Hermione apologetically before he shuffled from the room.

"I'll alter Miss Granger's wards so this cannot happen again, Minerva," Snape said as he pulled out his wand.

"Thank you Severus," Minerva McGonagall said before she left. "I'm very disappointed Hermione."

Hermione sat back on her bed, dejected. The imposing black figure by her door started to mutter incantations for wards that weren't necessary. When she saw Ron again she was going to throttle him!

It was then that Hermione realized that she was back in 1997. Perhaps in this time she could speak with Dumbledore and get things sorted. With renewed vigour she grabbed some clothes from her trunk and started to walk away when she noticed something sticking out from the covers of her bed.

"I know you are of age Miss Granger, but your position as Head Girl should be held to the highest level of propriety," Snape started to lecture her as she looked at the handkerchief. On it was embroidered the initials STS- Severus had given it to her twenty years ago.

"Are you listening to me, girl?" He snapped at her. "With NEWTS coming, now is not the time to be distracted by a paramour!"

Her head snapped up at his vicious comment. She felt so much anger in that moment. It was unfair. She hadn't done anything wrong but everyone refused to listen to her. She now had detention and would be vilified by all the other professors for acting like a hormonal teenager. Add to that the fact that she seemed to be travelling back and forth 20 years through time each night after her head his the pillow and it was easy to conclude that Hermione had heard enough. And now he, had the audacity to tell her how important NEWTs were!

She picked up the handkerchief intending on showing it to Dumbledore and started to march past him to get dressed in the loo.

"What's the matter with you?!" He snapped as he grabbed her arm and halted her forward motion.

She pulled her arm from his grasp and looked at his pinched face and hateful eyes and couldn't believe he was the boy who comforted her when she cried.

"I should give this back to you," she snapped as she placed the handkerchief in his hand.

He looked at her surprised when he noted the embroidery in the corner.

"Where did you get this?" He snapped at her. She could see him trembling slightly and wasn't sure whether it was in anger or upset.

"You lent it to me," she said callously. "I thought you might want it back."

She walked away from him and left him standing gap mouthed in her doorway.

****************************************

"Impossible!" He snapped as he walked through the hallway. Students jumped out of his way and gasped at his outburst.

Severus Snape quickly made his way to his rooms and slammed the door shut.

"It was just a dream," he muttered to himself. "There's no way...it's a prank of some kind..."

He had dreamt about Miss Granger two nights in a row. On the first night she was his partner in Divination and had rescued him from Proudfoote the insufferable family friend and teacher who was always trying to bed him. In the second dream she had been crying and he had comforted her and offered her a cloth for her face. The one he was now holding in his hand. In both dreams they were classmates and everything about his last year at Hogwarts had been accurate except for her presence. That was new. He had assumed it was just stress manifesting itself in his dreams, but what if it wasn't? How could she be there and here? She wasn't alive when he was a student and, try as he might, he had no other memories of her time as his classmate besides the ones from his dreams. It didn't make sense. Not at all.

Severus Snape shook his head and looked at a clock. He needed to teach two classes and then he could find the girl and see Dumbledore. The old man might commit him just yet.

Hermione stood before the entrance to Dumbledore's office five minutes before their meeting was to begin. Yesterday had not gone as planned. Dumbledore had been in Wizengammot meetings all day with top officials and was not to be disturbed. So here she was, 20 years back in time again because she couldn't have a meeting with him yesterday 20 years in the future. All this time shifting was making her head spin.

Besides all the time travel, word had spread quickly throughout Hogwarts that Ron had spent the night in her room. Smelling a love triangle 100 metres away, every student and teacher in the school was talking about them. And Ron, in his desire to apologize to Hermione for getting her caught up in all this, merely appeared to most to be a love-sick boy trying to woo her back. He and Lavender eventually saw Professor McGonagall and sorted the entire situation out, taking away her detention in the process. But the Scarlet woman label was going to stick until word of the real situation got out.

One bright spot in her day had been when an owl arrived this morning with a note excusing her from Professor McGonagall's extra study group for transfiguration so she could attend her meeting with Dumbledore. At least today she'd get some help. It had been nice to see a pre-war McGonagall though. She was more at ease with her students, laughing easily and smiling readily. Hermione realized when she looked at her teacher how much the war with Voldemort had changed people.

"The Headmaster will see you now," the ghost secretary said in a clipped voice.

"Thank you," Hermione said as she walked through the door that swung open and up a steep flight of stairs. When she got there, Dumbledore's office looked pretty much the same as she knew it to be. Sure there were different books strewn all over the tables and odd little machines around the room, but essentially it looked the same.

"Ah, Miss Granger, what can I do for you?" Dumbledore asked kindly.

"Uh, well sir..." Hermione stammered, not sure how to ask the question without sounding daft. "Have you met me before?"

"I'm sorry?" He asked, surprised.

"Uh, you see sir, I'm not from this time," she started and realized how ridiculous she sounded. "I am actually your student in 1997 but it's 1977 and I keep going back and forth in time each night when I go to sleep. One day I wake up here and the next in 1997. For instance today is December the 3rd but when I go to sleep tonight I'll wake up in my time on December 3rd as well."

"Interesting," he said as he rubbed his chin.

"I know it sounds crazy and I'm normally quite level-headed but..."

"You'd be surprised Miss Granger at what I don't find to be crazy," he said thoughtfully. "So you are from 1997? How do you know that?"

"How do I know? Well, I...I just am. My whole life takes place then. I'm currently a 7th year Head Girl and here...here I'm in 7th year but not Head Girl and..."

"No, I mean, how do you know here is not reality as much as there?" he asked as he leaned forward in his chair.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"There are wizarding theories that state it is possible to co-exist in two timeframes," he said. "But you say you just arrived in 1977 recently?"

"On December 1st," she nodded. "But sir, everyone here says they've known me since first year. I have no memories of my life here, in this time, before the 1st."

"Interesting," he said again. "Have you bumped your head recently?"

"No," she said, frustrated. "Are you proposing I'm unconscious?"

"No," he said as he looked at her kindly. "I'm proposing you have some sort of memory loss from this time."

"But sir, I..."

"And this happens each night when you go to sleep?" He asked. "How about when you nap?"

"I haven't...I haven't ever tried to nap sir," she said, not realizing where he was going.

"Have you spoken about this with me in 1997?" He asked interested.

"No, you were away and then in meetings not to be disturbed and..."

"Tomorrow, when you go back to 1997, please make sure you see me and discuss this, I'd be interested to know what I think," he said as he rose from his chair.

"Sir, are you poking fun at me?" Hermione asked, confused.

"Absolutely not," he said as he walked toward her. "But I need some time to think about this. Are you encountering anyone else here, besides myself who is at Hogwarts in the future?"

"Uh, Professor McGonagall, Professor Sprout, Remus Lupin, Severus Snape and possibly Aurora Lowe...I think she's my Professor Sinistra..." Hermione mused. "Is Madam Pomfey the mediwitch?"

"Yes," Dumbledore replied. "I don't want you to tell them, or anyone else for that matter about your knowledge of the future. Do you think you can manage to do that for the time being?"

"Uh, sure, but how do I get back to 1997?" She asked.

"As you always have, when you sleep, child," he said with a smile. "Come back and see me at the same time tomorrow, which for you I guess is two days from now, and we'll see what my future self says about all this."

"Sir, you seem to be taking this quite well," Hermione said as he walked her to the door.

"You don't get to be my age Miss Granger if you get spooked by something like this," he said as he opened the door. "I know this must be very disconcerting but please take the time to enjoy yourself in 1977 because the next time you sleep you might not be back."

"Are you going to place a spell?" She asked, interested in his solution.

"No, my child, I'm merely proposing that as quickly as this started it could also stop," he said with a tap on the shoulder.

She smiled at him with a confused look. "Thank you professor."

"I'll make sure you're in the books for tomorrow Miss Granger and we'll get to the bottom of this," he said softly.

************************************************** *******

"Hot chocolate?" Severus Snape asked Hermione as he sat down next to her.

"Oh, uh, thanks," she smiled at him as she took the steaming cup into her hands.

They were sitting at a Quidditch match, Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff and the Ravenclaws were getting trounced. Severus had just appeared from nowhere.

"I saw your friends leave and I thought I'd join you," he said conversationally.

"Yeah, they figured it was a done deal," she said, wondering in that moment she had decided to stay and watch a sport she really didn't enjoy.

"I don't see you at the matches often," he said as he looked out over the field.

"Where do you see me?" She asked, genuinely interested.

Severus chuckled. "In the halls, in the library, in class, sometimes in the gardens."

"What's so funny?" She asked with a smirk.

"I had to admit how often I've noticed you," he said as he turned to look at her face.

Her cheeks coloured when she realized he was looking at her with an amorous glint in his eye.

"I guess you do notice me a lot," she said as she swallowed hard.

"You're hard not to notice," he said quickly before he turned back to the match and took a drink from his cup.

She looked back toward the field as well and shifted uncomfortably. Her potions professor was flirting with her.

"So, how are things going with Professor Proudfoote?" She asked, trying to change the topic.

"I got a note today from her, wanting to see me here at the match," he said as he followed the game with his eyes.

"So where is she?" Hermione asked as she looked around.

"In the other stands," he said as he nodded towards her.

Hermione looked over and saw her professor looking at them pointedly.

"She's looking at you," Hermione said quietly as she sat back to avoid the glare.

"I sat with my Slytherin friends instead and then I came and sat with you," he said as his head darted to the side following a rogue blugger toward a player. "Ow!"

"That one probably hurt," Hermione agreed as she saw the player try and right themself.

"I took one like that in my match last week, I had a goose egg on my knee for days afterwards," he said with a wince.

"I didn't know," she said.

"You don't come to many matches," he said as he raised his cup to drink again.

"When's your next match? I'll come," Hermione said.

"It's Monday night," he said as he turned to look at her, curious. "It's one of our only night games in the season."

"Sounds like fun," she smiled at him. "And you play...?"

"Beater," Severus said with a smile. "You don't know much about me, do you?"

"I...uh..." Hermione stammered. "I know you have great hexing skills."

"Potter tell you that?" He asked with disdain.

"No, I just know from what people say, you're good at the Dark Arts," she stammered trying to remember information about Snape. "Pretty good at potions too."

"Potions are easy," he said as he sat back a bit. "The dark arts are more of a challenge."

"But you're going to school for potions?" She asked.

"It was an easy choice," he said as he followed the snitch with his eyes and the two players chasing it. "It's my highest grade, it has a good career outcome, and...I do like creating my own potions."

The crowd stood and followed the two seekers as they raced toward the snitch. The Hufflepuff player snatched it in mid-air and held it up high. The crowd cheered and Severus pumped his fist.

"You'd think it was your house?" Hermione smiled at him as he clapped and cheered.

He had to lean in and speak closely to her ear so he could be heard over the crowd. "No, I just know that the Hufflepuff team has a Beater with the early signs of the flu, by the time the game comes on Monday she'll probably be out of commission."

She felt her heart flutter as his warm breath touched her cheek but couldn't help smile at his ulterior motives. "You're horrible."

"What?" He asked with a smile.

"You're horrible," she said into his ear as she leaned close.

He turned and looked at her face. They were centimetres apart. She could feel his breath on her skin and saw his eyes bore into hers. "But you like me that way."

Her eyes widened. She was caught off guard by his comment; it was so much like his older self. He stayed close to her for a beat longer and then pulled back to whistle over the crowd. Hermione felt dizzy and couldn't hear anything but the sound of her own heartbeat in her ears. What was happening with Snape?

Hermione approached the Headmaster's office with the express goal of seeing his 1997 self today. She was a woman on a mission and she had been thinking of ways to finally get his attention today when the door in front of her opened of its own volition.

She looked at it quizzically and decided to bolt for the inside before the door mysteriously shut again. As she ran up the stairs she hoped that he wasn't in the middle of a top-secret meeting where some Auror would be forced to obliviate her. As she got to the top of the stairs she heard the distinct voice of her potions master.

"...possibly keep her in St Mungos under sedation until this mess is cleaned up. Albus this must stop!" Snape yelled.

"Ahh, and here is the lady of the hour as we speak," Albus said as he noticed her at the edge of the room. "Miss Granger, I sense your life has, most recently, become quite interesting."

"That is putting it mildly, sir," Hermione smiled at the older man as she approached his desk. "Professor Snape."

"Miss Granger," Snape laid into her. "Please explain to us what you, and possibly your nit-wit friends, have done now. Your appearance in 1977 is highly problematic."

"Sir, I haven't done anything," Hermione said honestly. "I just woke up on December 1st in 1977 at Hogwarts. Then I go to bed at night and wake up on December 1st in 1997 at Hogwarts. I'm living each day twice, once here and once there."

"Fascinating," Dumbledore mused as he sat in his chair.

"Dangerous is what it is," Snape said sharply. "You must stop this behaviour immediately Miss Granger or we will be forced to..."

"No one is forcing anything here Severus," Albus said as he gestured toward the two chairs in front of his desk. "Lemon drop?"

"Wait, sir, you are aware of my life in 1977?" Hermione asked as she turned to look at her Potions professor.

"What I am aware of is none of your..." Snape began.

"To answer your question Miss Granger," Dumbledore interrupted him. "We are both aware of our interactions with you in 1977. I didn't know about your...travels until this morning but apparently Severus was made aware of them yesterday and, let's be honest Severus, everything since the first."

Snape nodded curtly as he sat stiffly in a chair.

"I have a full memory of our meeting in 1977 where you came to see me and told me about your time travel. I was interested in knowing what my future self would say about all this. I have no other memories of you from that time though which is...highly unusual."

"I thought you were placating me, sir," Hermione said to him as she sat down.

"Oh no, I completely believed you," he said honestly. "I had no reason not to."

"Thank you, sir," Hermione smiled at him, happy she was being taken seriously in both timelines.

"I trust you have told no one here about your travels?" Dumbledore asked.

"I, uh...told Harry about the first time, but I thought it was a dream." Hermione admitted. "I haven't said anything to anyone since I realized what was actually happening."

"Good, let's keep it that way, shall we?" Dumbledore smiled. "Besides me and Severus is there anyone else you have interacted with as yet?"

"That's here now?" Hermione asked. "Uh, Professor McGonagall so far has taught me in one class."

"I expect I should inform Minerva then," Dumbledore said as he rubbed his beard. "I won't say anything to the others until your 1977 self interacts with them though. And, hopefully, your time travel won't last much longer."

"Here's hoping," Severus mumbled.

"But it appears Severus is a more regular part of your days at Hogwarts in 1977," he said as he smiled at her. "He's been involved in this since the 1st, is that not right Severus?"

"Yes, and I would like Miss Granger to refrain from interacting with my 7th year self if she continues to return there."

"Severus, now that's..." Dumbledore began.

"You seek me out sir," Hermione said as she turned to face him. "I merely helped you with Professor Proudfoote that one..."

"Please, can we skip over the gossipy bits?" Snape asked frustrated.

"Unfortunate incident that was," Dumbledore interrupted. "I had no idea she was trying to take advantage of her position until today. I'm quite glad I didn't offer her the permanent job."

Snape cleared his throat and shifted in his chair. He was obviously embarrassed that he had to share that bit of history this morning with the Headmaster.

"My point, sir," Hermione said with some snap. "Is that the other two days I have been there, you are the one who came to me, not the reverse."

"Fascinating," Dumbledore said as he leaned back in his chair and triangled his two hands in thought. "Severus, your 17 year old self is quite intrigued by Miss Granger and, who wouldn't be at that age?"

"I was a 17 year old boy Albus, I was intrigued by any girl," Snape admitted.

"No, not that I recall," Abus said as he smiled at Severus. "You were no Sirrius Black toying with women's hearts. You really only showed interest in Lily Evans for a time and then..."

"I would prefer not to discuss that," Snape said as he launched himself from his chair and walked toward a window.

"Sorry, getting a little off track," Dumbledore admitted. "Professor Snape informs me that you were able to take an object back and forth through time with you?"

"Yes, I must have had a handkerchief he loaned me still on my person and when I woke here, in 1997, it was still with me. It had Professor Snape's monogram on it and, as he's never loaned me a handkerchief before, I had to conclude it was the one from 1977."

"And you recall giving this to her, Severus?" Dumbledore asked the man at the window.

"Yes," he said as he continued to look outside. "She was blubbering about NEWTS, now I realize her time travel was causing the breakdown."

"Sir, do you just have the new memories of me or...?" Hermione asked, interested.

"Severus and I have both received these memories through our dreams," Dumbledore explained. "Which is why he wasn't aware of your actual time travel until you gave him back his cloth."

Hermione shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Professor Snape had merely thought he was dreaming about her. That, would have made him very uncomfortable, indeed.

"I don't make it a habit to dream about my students Miss Granger," Snape said with his back to her. "So I ask you to refrain from involving yourself with me in 1977 so the dreams can stop. It is improper."

"Now Severus, you know as much as I that you have no control over..."

"But she does!" He said as he spun to face them. "All she has to do is stay away from me, and then I won't be dreaming about my interactions with a female student."

"In 1977," Hermione reminded him. "It's not as if I'm your student then."

"Yes, but you are now," he said as he walked toward her. "Then and now might as well be the same time. That is when I am having to deal with it, in the present."

"I think," Dumbledore said, trying to calm his friend. "That what we should really be interested in is whether the things that Miss Granger does in the past have an affect on the present. We must be careful with time."

"I have been thinking about that a lot sir," Hermione said as she turned from her professor. "Is there some way to test...?"

"I was thinking that we need to devise a small, almost insignificant test, one that would show a result today without altering something major." Dumbledore agreed.

"Was there something that happened in 1977 that I could change and we could see if..." Hermione started.

"You're playing with fire, Albus," Snape warned.

"Let me have some time to think about this Miss Granger," Albus said as he stood. "Right now, you and Professor Snape need to get to Potions class, I believe."

He walked them both to the door. "Both of you need to come and see me tomorrow morning and by then I'm sure we'll have figured something out. Until then Miss Granger, continue in 1977 as usual. Which means Severus; she will remain your friend for now."

Hermione saw her potions professor wince at Dumbledore's instruction.

"Sir, your 1977 self wanted me to discuss this with you and..." Hermione started as they reached the stairs.

"Tell him that the map he's looking for is between the mattresses on his bed," Albus said with a smile. "I had been looking for the damn thing for years at that point."

"Thank you, sir," she said with a smile before she descended the stairs.

"Oh, and Miss Granger, don't try anything on your own, please," Dumbledore warned her.

"I won't sir," she said as she continued down the stairs.

"Give the girl a break, Severus," Dumbledore cautioned him. "She is one of the most responsible pupils in this school and can be trusted here and in 1977."

"Forgive me if I don't share your faith in her," Severus said as he walked toward the stairs.

"Perhaps it's your faith in a 17 year old Severus Snape that you actually doubt," Dumbledore said to him before he turned to re-enter his office.

***********************************************

That night Hermione Granger stayed in the library until closing looking at old yearbooks for her 1977 classmates. She had not appeared in any of the yearbooks so far, but wasn't sure if that could change at any time. She had learned some information about her roommates Lavinia, Glynnis and Matilda. Part of her was tempted to look up more recent information about them, how they fared in the war and life afterwards but decided that too much knowledge might be a bad thing.

"Are you ever going back to the Common Room?" Harry asked as he stood next to her. "Why are you interested in those old yearbooks?"

"Uh, History of Magic project," she lied.

Harry flipped though the one on the table until he came to a picture of his parents as Head Girl and Boy standing with their arms around each other. He smiled.

"You know those memories of Snape's I saw?" he asked her.

"Uh, which...?" Hermione started.

"Of my dad teasing him and him calling my mum a mudblood," Harry said as he gently touched their faces on the page. "I think I didn't have the full story."

"How so?" Hermione asked.

"I mean, everyone loved my dad. Loved Sirrius too. I'm thinking that Snape provoked some of those attacks I saw, and calling my mum a mudblood, well he was a right git even then, wasn't he?"

"I don't..." she stammered.

"After seeing those memories of his," Harry said as he slowly closed the book. "I sort of doubted what kind of person my dad was for a long time. But, the more I think about it, the more I think that Snape was probably a right asshole and my dad was merely reacting to him."

"Uh, maybe," Hermione said softly.

"It doesn't make sense otherwise," Harry said as he adjusted his satchel. "I mean Snape's the bad guy in that situation, possibly in every situation past and present."

Hermione gave her friend a tight-lipped smile. She didn't know what to say to him. Everything she'd seen in the past had pointed to the fact that James Potter was a bully and Sirrius Black was a cad. But she couldn't tell him that because of her promise to Dumbledore and because it would break his heart.

"Let's head back, shall we?" She said as she stacked the books and waved her wand to re-shelve them.

"Yeah," he said with a yawn. "I'm beat."

Hermione grabbed her bag and walked with her friend out the door, knowing that when she woke up she'd be in 1977 again.

Hermione walked away from her Headmaster's office feeling some hope for the first time since she'd arrived in 1977. Dumbledore had heard what his future self had said to her and she had also told him about the lost map between his mattresses which caused him to laugh uncontrollably. He told her that he had been doing some research and gave her some names that he wanted her to pass along to his future self in hopes, the two of them together, could figure this out for her. The whole process of dealing with two Dumbledores was somewhat mind-blowing to her.

"Come on Hermione!" Matilda called ahead of her. "We've been waiting for you!"

"Oh, sorry, the errand took longer than expected," she apologized as she met up with her roommates.

"Stop looking at him," Lavinia cautioned Glynnis.

Hermione's eyes followed Glynnis' sight line and fell on Sirrius Black kissing the neck of a Ravenclaw beauty.

"Ramona fecking Puce," Glynnis said as Sirrius and the girl walked out of the entry hall and into the front courtyard.

"Glynnis, you knew this would happen," Lavinia reminded her. "He'll shag any girl that comes along."

"Thanks for that," Glynnis snapped.

"You know what I mean," Lavinia said with her arm around Glynnis' shoulder. "He's just out for a good time and he doesn't care who he hurts along the way."

"It doesn't make it hurt less," Glynnis said as she kicked at the steps.

"Come on!" Matilda called. "We have presents to buy and times wasting."

"I'll buy you a butterbeer," Hermione offered to Glynnis.

"Thanks, Mione," Glynnis said softly

"He'd just a bloke and there are loads more around here that will treat you better," Lavinia said as they started to walk down the path. "We'll find you a better fella, won't we ladies?"

"I want him," Glynnis said softly as she looked ahead at Sirrius. "He's not like you think."

"You mean he isn't shagging about 7 different girls right now?" Lavinia asked.

"And cheating on his tests?" Matilda asked.

"And being a right bully?" Hermione asked.

"Okay, I get your points, all of them," Glynnis said as they continued to walk along. "But when it's just the two of us it's…it's different."

"And that's how he gets in your knickers," Lavinia said quite assuredly

"I haven't let Fillippe in my knickers and we've been together for almost two years, it can be done," Matilda nodded he head. "You just do other things instead."

"Like give him blow jobs," Glynnis said as she looked ahead at the couple. "That's just like sex Matilda, no matter how you slice it."

"No, sex is penetration," Matilda explained as if she was teaching a class. "It's not sex if he doesn't penetrate you."

"So he gets all the fun, and what do you get out of it?" Glynnis asked. "Hand holding? A Snuggle? He's playing you too."

"He is not, Fillippe loves me," Matilda said, slightly hurt. "Just because you haven't found love yet, doesn't mean others haven't."

"Okay, that's enough shite about Sirrius for one day, I think," Lavinia said as she looked at her friends. "You've been hanging out with Severus a lot lately, Mione."

"Uh, yeah, I guess," Hermione said as she tried to think of another subject. "Remus said you two were all cozy at the Quidditch match yesterday. That's why you wanted to stay?"

"No, I just wanted to see the end of the match, really," Hermione said as she looked at them. "He came over with a hot chocolate and we watched the end together."

"And he walked you back to the common room…" Matilda said with a smile.

"What happened at the portrait?" Glynnis asked, excited.

"Am I being spied on? How do you all know this?" Hermione asked, shocked.

"Well, ever since the Lily fiasco no one thought he would look sideways at another Gryffindor never mind a…muggle born." Glynnis said.

"And now that you and he have been spotted around together in the last few days…well, let's just say it's causing quite the stir." Lavina explained.

"How so?" Hermione asked.

"Everyone thought he was prejudiced because although he and Lily were friends for years he called her a mudblood in front of everyone, you were there," Matilda explained. "It was horrible."

"I remember," Hermione lied.

"So why are you hanging out with him?" Glynnis asked interested. "He might call you one too."

"He won't," Hermione said with assurance. "I think it came out unexpectedly and…"

"See, I'm not the only one who makes excuses for a boy I like!" Glynnis said triumphantly.

"I didn't say I like him!" Hermione scoffed.

"We know you do," Matilda smiled at her. "You haven't ever looked sideways at a boy until now. We actually thought you might be…you know."

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Interested in women, which is totally okay," Lavinia said quickly. "If you are, I mean."

"I'm not, but thanks for the endorsement," Hermione smiled at them.

"He is cute in a rogue sort of way," Glynnis said. "Not handsome, but sort of sexy."

"Glynnis!" Hermione said as she swatted at her arm.

"James and Sirrius are horrible to him though," Matilda said. "I don't know the history, but he must have done something awful to them to start it all."

"I think it was his friendship with Lily," Lavinia explained as they walked. "James was trying to get into her knickers for years and she'd have nothing to do with him. Then suddenly Severus calls her a mudblood and she runs right into James' arms."

"And now you hardly see one without the other," Glynnis explained as she pointed to a group way up the path. Lily and James were walking holding hands while Peter, Sirrius and Remus threw snowballs at each other and some Ravenclaw girls.

"True," said Hermione as she looked on at them. "Remus seems nice though."

"He's odd," Lavinia said. "He gets all twitchy sometimes and I swear he knows who's coming in the portrait hole before anyone else. It's like he senses them or something."

"Maybe he's got the inner eye, as Proudfoote would say," Matilda joked.

"Professor Proudfoote," Hermione corrected her.

"She's barely out of Hogwarts herself!" Lavinia said incensed. "I hope she doesn't get the position, there's something off about her."

"I agree," Hermione said, thinking about her sexual advances towards Severus.

"So what are you getting Fillippe for Christmas?" Lavinia asked Matilda.

"Herself," Glynnis said as she ran ahead slightly. "Naked with nothing on but a red bow!"

"Glynnis!" Matilda yelled as she ran after the girl gathering snow to throw at her.

"I love Christmas time," Lavinia said as she wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulder. "It brings out the idiot in us all!"

With that the pulled open the neck of Hermione's coat and shoved snow down her back.

"Ahhh!" Hermione yelped as the cold hit her skin. "You're dead!"

She raced after Lavinia gathering snow as she went.

On Thursday, Hermione Granger made her way down to the dungeons with Harry for double potions. She had spent a lovely day with her roommates in Hogsmeade buying presents for parents she didn't know. In that time, she had realized how much she missed female companionship. Hanging out with Harry and Ron all the time was fun, but there were subjects that only girls could discuss with each other. She was eager to get as much female companionship out of 1977 that she could.

And, she figured her potions professor would be happy about the fact that he hadn't dreamed about her last night. Not once yesterday did she encounter Severus. Hermione wasn't even sure if he went into Hogsmeade at all.

"Get in unless you want to be marked as late," Snape called from his classroom door to the group she was walking with.

"There's still 3 minutes before class starts," Harry whispered in her ear.

"What was that Mr. Potter?" Snape asked.

"Glad to be back in class, sir," Harry said with a smirk.

"I thought so," Snape said as he narrowed his eyes at the boy.

"A word after class Miss Granger?" Snape asked as she passed him.

"Of course, sir," Hermione said as she ducked into the room.

Class went as usual but Snape seemed to be in a more foul mood than normal.

'I guess' thought Hermione, 'even when he's not dreaming about a student, he's still a right git.'

Everyone prepared their potions under the watchful eye of the professor and, at the end of class as everyone was leaving the room, Hermione approached his desk.

"Sir, you wanted to speak with me?" She asked.

Severus Snape looked up from his pile of parchments and noted that Potter was waiting for her at the back of the room. "You may go Potter, this does not concern you."

"Mione?" Harry asked.

"I'll see you at lunch Harry," she said as she turned to look at him.

"Run along," Snape said as he motioned with his hand.

Hermione watched her friend leave and then, when the door shut, turned to face her professor.

"Sir?" She asked.

"You were back in 1977 again yesterday, I presume?" He asked as he stood up and walked around his desk towards her.

"Yes, I was in Hogsmeade with my roommates," Hermione said as she watched him approach. "I thought you would be happy we didn't encounter each other."

"Some of us didn't make it to Hogsmeade on that day," he said as he leaned his hip against the desk and looked at her.

"You didn't choose to go?" She asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I did, in the original history of my life, go into Hogsmeade on that day and purchase gifts for my family, but in what is now becoming the new history of my life, I didn't quite make it," he said.

"I'm sorry sir, I don't quite..."

"I spent it in the infirmary Miss Granger, not as I originally did," he said as he leaned forward slightly.

"Why were you in the infirmary, sir?" She asked, surprised.

"Because one Sirrius Black took it upon himself, with the help of James Potter no doubt, to warn me to stay away from you with a well placed hex," Snape said as he took off his robe.

"You were hexed? Why? I don't think I've even had a conversation with Sirrius..." she said as she watched him start to undo the buttons on is coat.

"Well, your Gryffindor knights in shining armour decided to teach this 7th year Slytherin a lesson so I would stay away from you," he said as he removed his coat and started to unbutton his shirt.

"Sir?" Hermione asked as her eyes widened when she saw chest hair appear.

"Don't get your knickers in a knot Miss Granger, I'm merely showing you the result of that hex in 1977," he said as he pulled his collar to the side and showed her a skin discoloration on his left shoulder.

Hermione took a step forward and leaned in to look at it closely. "It looks like...it looks like a lion...stomping on a snake."

"That is precisely what it is," he said as he shrugged his shirt back on. "Black hit me with a welt hex that Madam Pomfey treated, but inside the hex he buried this lovely piece of body art that, when left for a period of 6 hours, is impossible to remove. It wasn't until the welts were fully healed later that night that I noticed the artistic scar."

"Oh, sir," she said as she covered her mouth with her hand, upset.

"Exactly what I thought when I woke this morning to discover something on my body that wasn't there yesterday," he said as he pulled on his jacket.

Hermione shook her head in disbelief.

"So you see Miss Granger, your actions in 1977 do have an effect on life today. I am now burdened with a horrible house rivalry scar for the rest of my days," he said as he fastened the buttons on his jacket.

"But why would Sirrius care?" Hermione asked. "I don't..."

"He and Potter took it upon themselves to defend all Gryffindor girls against those they felt were unworthy," Snape said as he donned his robe again. "It was meant as a warning, for me to know my place."

"But I still don't..."

"It goes back before your involvement, back to Lily Evans," he said as he leaned his hip against the desk again. "They didn't like me to begin with, and when they saw me hanging out with another Gryffindor muggle born, well, I guess it was too close to my history with Lily."

"I take it your friendship with Lily has ended by 7th year, sir?" She asked boldly.

"It ended the year prior, then she started with Potter, and well, you know the rest," he said as he stood upright and looked at her carefully. "I have a few ideas about what you should do, and I would like your input."

Hermione nodded for him to continue.

"The first option is you can ignore me," he said as he picked at a piece of lint on his robe. "I will eventually get the hint, and stay away from you keeping myself out of any further skirmishes that could affect me today."

She nodded her head. It wasn't the option she liked but she wanted to hear everything he had to say.

"The second option is we continue as usual, as friends and deal with whatever comes our way," Snape said as he looked at her. "I would be more prepared for another attack and, when they see I'm not going anywhere, they may just find another cause."

She gave him a tight-lipped smile. It was nice to think they could still remain friends.

"The third option is the most dangerous, and probably the most foolhardy," he began. "You could convince me to launch a counter-attack to get back at the pillock. This option gives me a sense of vindication but opens up the door for further future problems."

She nodded in agreement.

"Now, which of these options do you think you should act on?" He asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

She thought for a few moments and then raised her head to look at him square in the eye.

"None of them, sir," she said assuredly.

"None?" he asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Well, the first option isn't possible because you are very persistent and I don't see you just dropping the attack, now or at seventeen," she said.

"Probably true," he was forced to agree.

"The second option again, is reliant on the fact that Sirrius and James will back off, which you and I both know they won't," she said as she took a step toward him.

He nodded in agreement.

"You will just end up with more of these," she said as she lightly touched his shoulder where the scar was, "or worse."

He looked at her hand touching him and nodded.

"And the third option, well, it's just foolhardy," she said with a smile. "You'll end up seriously injured or they will, and that will have huge historical ramifications."

He looked up into her eyes and sighed slightly. He knew she was right but he wanted some sort of vengeance.

"I have a fourth option," she said with a smile. "One that will give you some measure of equality, and not put you in further danger."

"What might that be?" He asked.

"Sirrius liked to let everyone believe that he was some rogue leader that went against his family," Hermione said. "But he relied on Black money to support him in school. So as much as he hated his family, he needed them. How else could he afford fine clothes and ski trips?"

"True," Snape said as he watched her mind work.

"I also know that Sirrius is sleeping with about 7 girls at Hogwarts, some of which are muggle born," Hermione said with a grin. "How do you think the noble house of Black would feel if they knew the possibility was out there that they could have a mudblood da..."

"Don't use that word," Snape interrupted her.

"I'm just saying..." she started.

"Muggle born Miss Granger, you and I both know the term the noble house of Black would employ," he said softly.

Hermione looked at him confused. He had once called Lily that same word in anger. Was it that one act that caused him to change his usage or had it always been that way?

"What I'm suggesting is blackmail," Hermione said with a smile. "He and James stay away from you and I won't let the noble house of black know his dirty little secret. They hate muggle borns so much I'm sure they would cut off his income from the estate. And then where would Sirrius be?"

"He would rather die then lose his ample income," Snape agreed.

"So there's no worry about future problems because we know he'll go for it," Hermione said with an air of satisfaction.

He tapped his fingers on the desk and looked at her thoughtfully. "Remind me to never get on your bad side, Miss Granger."

"Who says you aren't already there?" She asked with a smirk.

He replied with a small smile. "Okay, we'll do it your way, but if this goes downhill fast, you and I will figure out some other options, agreed?"

"Agreed," she said with a nod.

"Enjoy tomorrow Miss Granger," he said as he walked back around his desk and sat down.

"I will sir," she said before she grabbed her bag and left.

Hermione Granger walked toward her charms class with an air of satisfaction. At lunch today she had asked to see Sirrius privately in her bedroom. She knew the offer, for what he thought would be a snog or a shag, would be too tempting for him to resist. And resist he didn't. Sirrius showed up with his best moves in place, ready to charm the pants off her (literally) until he was hit with blackmail. He was incensed. At first he resisted, saying his family would never believe her, then he was angry that she dare do this to him, finally he was defeated, knowing she would follow through if he and the other Marauders didn't leave Severus alone. Part of her was tempted to include Glynnis in her deal, but Hermione didn't want to get herself involved in that love polygon lest she make the wrong choice for Glynnis. In the end, Sirrius had promised to leave Severus alone, and to get the other Marauders to do the same. Their blackmail deal would remain a secret to preserve his reputation.

"Hermione, I was wondering if you were ill," Severus said as he came up behind her and fell into step as she walked.

"Why?" She asked, happy to see him in one piece.

"Uh, you weren't at breakfast or lunch today," he said as his cheeks reddened. "I just assumed..."

"Oh, I grabbed a croissant on my way to class this morning and...and I had to run to my room at lunch," she said as she looked at him carefully. She noticed a healing welt right near the collar of his shirt. "You weren't in Hogsmeade yesterday."

He involuntarily scratched at his left shoulder and looked into the distance, "No, I uh...I had some homework to catch up on."

She then noticed a rather large welt healing near his wrist as he touched his shoulder. The skin up his arm was blotchy and red.

She stopped in her tracks and looked around the hallway. He had a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead and he looked more tired than usual. He should still be in the infirmary.

She looked around and saw the last student walking into their Charms class and the door shutting behind them.

"We better go so we're not late," he said as he looked at her strangely.

She grabbed him by his arm and walked him past the classroom and down a set of stairs.

"Hermione, we just passed..." he said as he was led away.

"I know, just come with me," she said as she led him down another set of stairs.

"Why are we going to the dungeons?" He asked with exhausted breath as they went down yet another set of stairs.

It was when she heard the wheeze in his voice that she was sure she was doing the right thing.

"You're not going to class," she said over her shoulder as she guided him down the hall toward the Slytherin Common Room.

"What?!" He asked as he tried to pull away from her. Her grip tightened.

"Severus you are sick and you need to rest," she said as she stopped them before the portrait entryway.

"I'm fine, why would you think I was sick?" He asked as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

She looked at him in the eyes. "I know what they did to you Sunday, the welts."

He took a step back from her and his face paled. "I, uh...they caught me..."

"I know that they caught you off guard and warned you against coming near me again," she said as she stepped toward him. "I also know that you are still recovering and shouldn't be walking about yet."

"I know what I'm capable of," he said, indignant.

"Please, Severus, I don't want you to get worse," she said imploringly.

"I don't need you to take care of me!" He snapped at her. "They don't decide who I can and can't speak to."

"I know that," she said softly as she stepped closer. "You won't stop being my friend. You're anything but a coward."

He looked at the ground shyly.

"Now will you go inside and rest for the day? Be honest."

He licked the ground and looked up briefly at her. "Maybe for an hour, but I need to go to..."

"For the rest of the day?" She asked. There was no mistaking her tone.

He didn't answer her, because he wouldn't lie.

"Fine," she said determined. "Cast disillusionment on me or I'll do it myself."

"Why?" He asked, surprised by her request.

"Because I'm going with you and unless you want rumours to fly by dinner time, you'll disillusion me," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You know, my reputation could use..." he started with a sly smile.

"Just disillusion me!" She said with a stomp of her foot.

"Okay!" He said as he put his hands up in surrender. He cast the spell and she disappeared before his eyes. "Come on."

He solved the puzzle at the portrait and the door swung open. She held onto the back of his robes and followed him inside. Two Slytherins were playing exploding snap in the corner and another was reading a book by the fire.

"Sev! You wanna play?" One boy called to him.

"No, thanks." Severus replied. "I'm not feeling well. I'm going to lay down."

They walked through a hallway and toward another doorway. Then, they walked down a long hall to a room on the end and Severus opened it and quickly shut the door behind them.

"Do you want to remain disillusioned or...?"

"Finite Incantum," Hermione said softly when she noticed no one else was around. She took a moment to look around the room. Two beds were neatly made with areas around them that were clean and two beds looked like a bomb went off there.

"Uh, Avery and Fletcher are not the neatest of roommates," Severus said as he picked up a girly magazine near one of their beds and shoved it under some clothes.

"That's okay, Glynnis is a complete slob," Hermione smiled at him. "So go and get changed and I'll wait here."

"They all have classes for the afternoon and shouldn't come in but...I really don't want to leave you alone here." Severus said as he dropped his bag near a neat bed.

"Okay, I'll um...turn around while you change, just let me know when you are done," she said as she turned to face a wall with a poster of a Quidditch team on it.

"Hermione, this isn't necessary, I will stay in bed if it means that much to you," he said softly across the room.

"Good." She said with a smile. "I'll stay until the end of Charms and then go on to my other classes."

"Fine," he said as he rustled through his trunk trying to find a pair of sleeping trousers and a long sleeve shirt that would cover his ugly welts. He stripped down and changed quickly, feeling ridiculous standing there in his pyjamas while she was fully dressed.

"You can turn around," he said as he pulled at the sleeve of his shirt to cover his wrist.

"Get in bed," she said forcefully.

"I feel like a child," he said disdainfully. "Either that or a character from one of those ridiculous magazines Avery reads. You won't take advantage of me, will you?"

She laughed at his joke and pulled up a chair next to his bed. Severus cast a Silencio spell on the room and placed a light ward on the door to warn them if anyone came in then he got into bed.

"I feel ridiculous," he said as he adjusted his pillow.

"I want to tell you something and I don't want you to get mad," she said as she sat down in a chair.

"What?" He asked, worry in his voice.

"I spoke with Sirrius today about what he did to you," she said as she watched his face knot up into anger.

"Hermione! I can fight my own..."

"Just hear me out!" She snapped at him. "This has to do with you as much as me."

"I was the one he attacked! I can defend myself without..." he snapped back at her.

"No Severus, he attacked both of us, but you're the only one with the scars," she said forcefully.

"Hermione, what did you do?" He asked dejectedly.

Just then the wards let off a low humming noise. Hermione and Severus looked at each other in fear. He waved for her to jump onto his bed and when she sat on his feet he closed the curtains around them then turned and cast disillusionment on her again.

"Sev? You in here?" A boy's voice asked from just inside the doorway.

"Yeah, I'm sleeping Mugungus," Severus said as he felt Hermione shift on his feet. "I still feel horrible."

"Those damn Marauders," Mugungus said as he swept open Severus' bed curtains.

"Yeah," Severus said as he was blinded by light.

"I wish you'd let us..." Mugungus began.

"No, I'll take care of it, thanks," Severus said as he looked at his roommate. "What are you doing here?"

"Told Proudfoote that I left my homework in my room and she actually made me come and get it!" Mugungus said indignant. "I didn't do it, of course so...maybe I'll just stay here with you."

"No!" Severus said quickly. "Another student tried that last week and she had him shining her orbs with a toothbrush for 2 weeks."

"Really?" Mugungus said. "Shit, I better just go back then and face the music. She can't give me a detention like that if I go back."

"No, she can't, smart idea," Severus said with relief.

"Okay, see you later!" Mugungus said before he left the room.

"Oh gods that was close," Severus said relieved as he felt Hermione shift again on his feet. "You really should go."

"Okay, but let me tell you what I did first," Hermione said as she settled in at the foot of his bed and extended her legs up one side.

"Disillusion yourself first," Severus said as he sat up.

"Finite Incanteum," Hermione said softly.

Severus looked at her uncomfortable at the bottom of his bed and pulled one of his pillows out from under his head and passed it to her.

"Thanks," she said as she settled in at the foot of his bed, her legs on one side of his body.

"So..." she began. Hermione told him the entire story of Sirrius and how she had blackmailed him. He was polite enough to not interrupt but at the end of the story seemed in awe of what she had done.

"He won't bother you again, nor will any of the other Marauders for that matter," she said. "And you can't retaliate or the whole deal is void."

He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "You did all this for me?"

"Yes," she said without hesitation.

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment. "You know, I was surprised you wanted to be my friend."

She just looked at him and said nothing.

"And now you do this as well, after I...after Lily," he said as he stumbled over his words.

"Did you mean it? What you said to her?" She asked softly.

"No," he answered honestly. "But I really don't want to talk about it."

"Okay," she said quietly.

He yawned and she saw his eyes close briefly.

"I better go," she said as she went to rise from his bed.

He grabbed her wrist to prevent her from moving. "Thank you." He said honestly as he looked into her eyes.

She looked down at where he held her arm and smiled. "That's what friends are for."

He smiled weakly at her and dropped her arm. He cast a disillusionment charm over her again and she picked up her bag to leave. Hesitating at the door a moment, she walked back to his bed and touched the top of his head with her hand, leaned down and kissed his forehead lightly.

"Feel better," she said softly.

He smiled up at her and his ears went red. "Thanks, Hermione."

She quietly left his room and waited for a few minutes at the portrait for a Slytherin to enter before she snuck out into the hallway

Days passed and Hermione Granger found herself living in both 1997 and 1977 with no hint of a solution. Before she knew it, it was December 9th 1997 and she had just left another uneventful meeting with Dumbledore. Both Dumbledore's had been passing information and suggestions about what could possibly resolve her time travel dilemma through her, but, as far as she could tell, it would be a while before there were any actual workable options.

In 1977 she had become quite close to her roommates and Severus. He had healed from his welts, missed a key Quidditch match, which put him in a foul mood for a day, and generally spent every other waking moment either with her or looking for her. She found that she quite liked his company and the attention he bestowed on her, attention she was not used to getting from boys. He told her about his crummy childhood, they discussed school, talked about world events, went for walks, and found themselves free from attacks from the Marauders who gave them a wide berth. Things had also started to get physical ever since she kissed him on the forehead when he was ill. It wasn't much, an arm around he shoulder here, a hug there, but things were changing between them.

None of her 1977 counterparts had any indication of her time travel and continued on as usual. Her roommates and she spent late nights up talking and Hermione learned a lot about them and their lives. Lavinia was muggle born like she was, and from Dover. She placed school above all else, was not romantically involved with anyone, and seemed to have strong opinions about all matters. Matilda was a pureblood and quite sheltered and naive. She loved her boyfriend Fillippe, did alright in school, and came from a rich family who had summer homes and ski chalets. Glynnis was a half blood from Manchester who placed her love and social life ahead of all else. Her family didn't seem to have a lot of money and she always seemed to be lashing out about something while still seeking approval.

In 1997 things had begun to change as well. Hermione found herself doing a lot of research into the events of the 1970's in the magical and muggle worlds. Topics would come up with her friends and teachers that she found herself less than knowledgeable about and that bothered her. Ron and Harry had been virtually the same. She spent time with them listening to Quidditch information, theories about the Dark Arts, and girls. She was getting top grades and all of her teachers were talking with her about future options. She found it hard to look toward the future with 1977 still very much part of her present. Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout had been made aware of her travel in time as she had attended their classes in 1977 and they needed to be made aware of the situation. Everyone had been quite concerned about the affects of time travel on their current time since Severus had shown them all the mark on his shoulder.

Severus in 1997 was another problem entirely. He no longer requested that she stay away from his 1977 self but each day when she returned to 1997 he requested a meeting with her where they went over the events of their interactions and he either berated her choices or offered suggestions for the next day. She understood that this was him trying to capture some measure of control over his life and she gave him a lot of latitude. He was uncomfortable with the physical nature of their interactions and could see, like she could, that his 1977 self was enamoured with her. She had tried to do things to appease his 1997 self but also didn't want to hurt the 1977 Severus she had grown to have feelings for.

"Mione, did you get question 48?" Harry asked suddenly, startling her out of her reverie as she approached her potions class.

"Uh, yeah," she stumbled to remember the question. "You need to mash the root or else the potion will be ineffective."

"Thanks Mione!" He said as he kissed her cheek and strode ahead of her to write down the answer before class began.

"How cozy," came a silky voice behind her.

She turned to see her Professor, Severus Snape looking at her and nodding towards Harry.

"Excuse me, sir?" She asked, unsure of his statement.

"I had no idea that you and the Potter boy were anything but friends," he said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"We are just friends," she said confused.

"Indeed," was his only response before he swept away from her giving the class an instruction to start brewing a binding potion while he went around to check homework.

Hermione shook her head. Her 1997 Severus was starting to act oddly toward her.

She set about brewing her potion and tried to focus on the task at hand. When professor Snape went around the room to check homework, he paused at her station and watched her stir.

"Hermione, you need to be more gentle with your turns," he said as he wrapped his hand around hers and stirred with her.

She looked up at him in shock. Not only did her professor not touch people, but he also didn't call them by their first name. The people around her had also noticed his behaviour.

"Uh, thank you professor," she stammered as she felt his warm hand around hers and the heat radiating off his hip as he stood close at her side.

It was the word 'professor' that must have caused him to snap out of whatever world he was on because he dropped her hand swiftly and started to walk away.

"Hopefully you haven't spoiled it, Granger," he snapped sharply.

She nodded and tried to prevent the flush from rising up her cheeks. She didn't do a very good job.

*********************************************

"A word," Professor Snape said to her as he fell into step next to her in the hallway later that day.

He passed her and walked toward the owlry without even looking back to see if she was coming. When she went to climb the steps to the owlry a strong hand grabbed her arm and stopped her assent.

"Not up there, here," he said as he nodded his head to an area off to the side.

"Sir?" She asked as she wrapped her cloak around herself against the chill. They were standing on top of one of the castle wings and the wind seemed to whip right across the area.

"I apologize for my behaviour today, in class," he said as he looked at her briefly and then turned to look out over the lake.

"It's okay sir," she said walking up next to him to get a better look at his face. "I almost call you Severus every time I open my mouth."

"I should have better...control," he said with a sneer.

"Everyone makes mistakes," she said as she touched his arm. Surprisingly, he did not pull away.

"I work as a spy for years..." he muttered under his breath.

She merely nodded as he berated himself. Her hand dropped to her side and she looked out over the lake with him in silence.

"Maybe we've been wrong to not have you distance yourself from me in 1977," he said as he looked out over the water.

"I don't really feel like hurting you, sir," she said.

"And you don't think that your abrupt departure from that world won't hurt me, when we find a solution?" He asked, almost tiredly.

"We don't know that I will depart, sir," she said as she looked up at his stoic face. "I, somehow, existed there before now...who's to say that there isn't another me to take..."

"Because I'm never that lucky, Hermione," he said quietly. "We will find a solution to this dilemma and you will leave that time. Perhaps you just disappear and all memories of you as well, perhaps you just suddenly are not there and we look for you, or perhaps the 1977 Dumbledore comes up with an elaborate story of a family tragedy, a move, or a school switch that will make you unreachable."

"Perhaps," she said sadly.

They stood in silence for a quarter of an hour before he spoke again.

"I think you should be taken out of my class," he said as he finally turned to look at her. "My slip up today is a direct result of the feelings that I am starting to have for you, in 1977."

She looked up at him, surprised by his admission.

"I will give you an independent study project that will take you out of my classroom and we can therefore avoid any more uncomfortable mishaps like the one today." He said as he looked at her carefully for a reaction. "We will meet regularly where you can update me on your progress and I can offer you guidance for further study."

"But my NEWTs, Severus," she said as she looked at him worried.

"We both know you could pass your Potions NEWT with impeccable marks months ago Hermione," he said as he looked at her softly. "What I am offering you is a chance to go beyond NEWTs while still studying here. If you wish to continue your studies in potions, it will prove to be a valuable course of study."

She looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, considering the offer. As much as she didn't want to leave the class, an independent project would give her more experience in the field and having him touch her and call her Hermione in class had got the attention of quite a few students...

"I can agree to that," she said thoughtfully.

"Good," he said as he turned to face her. "Come and see me tomorrow before the dinner hour and we will discuss your course of study."

She nodded her head in agreement.

"You should go downstairs, Hermione," he said as he watched her pull her robe around herself even more. "Your cheeks will get wind-burn up here."

She smiled at him and started to walk away. When she turned to look back, she saw a solitary figure still looking out over the lake, utterly alone.

"Severus!" she called to him over the wind.

He turned to look at her, puzzled she was still there.

"It's not just you who has feelings in 1977," she said as her face turned red.

He nodded to acknowledge what she had said and a faint glimmer passed over his face before he turned to look back at the lake.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione walked beside Severus on the way back from Hogsmeade. The sun was setting across the snow which was gently falling from the sky; she had spent a wonderful day with him. Headmaster Dumbledore had announced a surprise Hogsmeade day at breakfast and been met with the whoops of a happy crowd. Apparently, several shops had been out of stock last Hogsmeade day and had implored the school to allow the students back into the village to make their final Christmas purchases. Hermione had accompanied Severus on his shopping trip as he searched for an appropriate gift for his cousin Tatiana. It was fun trying on scarves and hats for him as he smiled at her and commented on what would be suitable for his cousin who was a few years older. In the end, he had decided on a lovely violet silk scarf for her that had been boxed and wrapped before they left.

"It's been lovely," she said with a sigh as she walked next to him in the snow. There were a few Hogwarts students ahead of them on the path but it looked like they might be the last to get back.

"Thank you for helping me decide," he said with a smile. "I am always bad at choosing gifts for females."

"That'll come with experience," Hermione said as she avoided a patch of ice. "Women are generally pleased with chocolates, scarves, lotions or hair clips."

"So I did well?" He asked her as he grabbed her arm to prevent her from taking a tumble.

"Yes!" She laughed as she looped her arm through his and walked a little slower and more carefully.

"Good," he said with a smile as he placed a hand over hers as she held onto the crook of her arm. "You've not changed your mind about going home?"

Hermione shook her head. The idea of spending Christmas with the strangers in the picture on her nightstand was a little too much. "No, I can get some reading done and catch up on some work that I..."

"Are you not ahead in all your classes?" He asked as he looked at her, his brow furrowed.

"I'm up to date, not ahead, Severus," she said with a grin.

"Won't you miss your family?" He asked, interested.

"Since mom and I had that row...it's just too soon," she lied.

"About muggle university?" He asked to clarify.

"Uh, yeah," she said as she tried to avoid eye contact.

"I have to admit that I do enjoy going home more since my dad died," Severus said candidly. "Without the fighting and drinking it's actually become an enjoyable holiday."

She gave him a tight-lipped smile. He'd been honest about his father's alcoholism and abusive behaviour while growing up. Something her 1997 Snape had been upset about. He didn't want his personal life spread all over Hogwarts and eyed her with suspicion when she promised to not tell a soul. She hadn't.

"Besides, Lavinia is staying as well, so I won't be alone," she said with a smile.

"I hear Remus is also not going home," Severus said as he looked ahead on the path.

"I had heard something about that," Hermione said as she followed his line of sight. "What are you looking at?"

"Uh, nothing," he said as he noted the last students ahead of them had walked into the entryway.

He stopped walking abruptly and turned toward her, looking at her nervously.

"What's wrong?" She asked as she turned to face him.

"You have...Hermione," he started and then paused. "You have not said that you are attending the Yule Ball with anyone."

She looked at him strangely. She hadn't even thought about either Yule Ball, this one, or the one in 1997.

"I'm...I'm not," she said as she looked at him as the snow fell softly between them.

"Would you...would you consider going with me?" He asked as he nervously met her eyes. "To the ball?"

She smiled at him and noticed his body immediately relax. "Of course."

He let out the breath he was holding and smiled back at her. "Thank you."

"You haven't seen me dance yet, I don't know if you should be thanking me," she joked as she pushed a strand of hair out of his eyes.

He laughed at her joke and pressed his cheek into her hand.

Suddenly she felt like time was frozen. Severus was looking at her with such intensity as her hand was holding his face. The snow was falling silently around them and all she could feel was his warm breath hitting her skin. All she could hear was her own heart pounding in her chest as he leaned forward and captured her lips with his.

The kiss was soft at first, as he fumbled to get his arms around her and she wrapped her caught hand around his neck then it slowly built in intensity as it deepened and she felt her body tingling as it was being brought flush against his. Layers of clothing between them seemed to be the only thing that kept her heart and his from banging against each other as his tongue gained entrance to her mouth and she moaned into his. Hermione had never been kissed like this in her entire life. His arms gripped her fiercely as his mouth worked her over and his eyes looked at her longingly.

"Oi!" A voice called loudly from the entrance way. "Stop snogging and get inside so I can shut the doors!"

Hermione and Severus broke apart as they both turned to look at the caretaker standing in the middle of the doorway.

"Sorry!" Severus called in a broken voice to the man as he grabbed Hermione's hand and walked quickly with her back into Hogwarts, her head still spinning and her body still vibrating.


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione Granger awoke to the floo being activated in her Head Girl Room. She sat up in bed and saw the imposing figure of her Potions Professor casting a muffalato spell on the room as he stepped out of the fireplace.

"How dare you!" He said as he approached the side of her bed.

She found herself scurrying up towards the headboard away from him.

"Professor!" She snapped at him, scared but also dazed.

"You cannot continue this with me!" He said as he hovered over her.

"You kissed me!" She said out of breath as she watched his heaving chest inhale and exhale with anger.

"And you should have resisted!" He said as he continued to loom over her.

"I didn't know until it was happening," she tried to explain.

"The softly falling snow? Twilight? Alone? Hermione, anyone could have guessed what was going to happen!" He snapped at her as he started to pace next to her bed. It was then that she noticed his hastily thrown together clothes. Apparently he had dressed in a hurry to come and see her upon waking.

"Severus, I don't know what to..."

"It's professor," he corrected her with a growl.

"Professor, I don't know what to say," she said as she moved back down her bed and threw her feet over the side. "It just happened and there's nothing we can do about it now."

"You will tell me you cannot accompany me to the Yule Ball," he said as he continued to pace. "I'll be upset but I'll get over it. With time and distance..."

"But I want to go with you," she said as she rose from her bed and faced him.

"Hermione now is not the time for silly school girl romance," he said as he stopped to face her. "You are affecting time and..."

"I know!" She yelled. "Professor, it's December 10th and I have lived 20 days between two time lines. I, of all people, know."

He stopped pacing and looked at her for a moment. She was mad at him; there was no mistaking it.

"I am trying to deal with this the best I can," she went on to explain as she ran a hand through her wayward hair. "For all I know, I will always be in both times and then..."

"And then, what?" He asked, interested.

"I want to have a life in both; I don't want to merely be a bystander in 1977." She admitted as she looked up at him. "What if I am always there? What if I get caught there? Why would I throw away our friendship?"

"It appears we are more than friends," he said as he looked at her seriously.

"I know and..."

"Hermione!" Ginny's voice called from the other side of her door. "Why is your door warded?"

Severus looked at her with wide eyes. Suddenly the precarious situation he had put them in was apparent. He was a teacher, in the room of a seventh year student at daybreak. A student who, he suddenly noticed, was wearing a pair of sleeping pants and a tank top that revealed a great deal about her body underneath. Severus started to sweat.

"Sorry, Ginny," Hermione called back with a nervous voice. "I'm just in the loo; I'll be out in a minute."

"Okay!" Ginny called back as they heard her footsteps retreat.

"I must go," he said as he turned to leave and then, stopping suddenly, turned back to face her. "I'm sorry Miss Granger for intruding into your room unannounced so early this morning. It was inappropriate and..."

"Severus," she said as she grabbed his elbow and stopped his speech, turning him to face her more fully. "I'm sorry if what's going on in 1977 is upsetting you. I am going to the Yule Ball with you, but I promise I will try and...and temper our physical relationship from now on."

He nodded and then stepped away from her towards the fireplace.

"Any suggestions for a dress?" She asked as he grabbed her floo powder in his hand.

He stood for a moment his back to her saying nothing, and she thought he may berate her for such a forward question.

"I like blue," he said softly without turning. "The blue scarf you tried on...it looked nice with your eyes."

He then threw the floo powder into her fireplace and was gone in an instant.

Hermione fell back heavily onto her bed.


	4. Chapter 4

She felt his hand stroking the soft flesh along her rib cage. She sensed his hesitancy at moving his hand upward, even it she was still wearing a bra. They were in a private alcove near the owlry making out, and Hermione Granger was enjoying the electricity that was flowing through her body. It was December 15th and Hermione was back in 1977 allowing her hormones to run wild with Severus Snape. Although she had promised to temper their physical relationship, kisses had been daily, touching regular, and the electricity that was running between the two of them had culminated in him pulling her down this little used hallway to kiss her soundly.

"You feel so amazing," he said in a whisper as he touched her face gently with one hand and traced her ribs with the other.

"So do you," she said softly as her one hand held onto his shoulder and his other ran up and down his thigh.

He broke contact with her mouth and started to kiss under her chin, along her neck and down her collar as his hand finally did what she'd been aching for it to do, cupped her breast.

She let out a small gasp as he squeezed her breast in his hand and sucked on her neck.

"Ohhh gods," she moaned softly.

He took that as a good sign and, reaching around her back, used wandless magic to undo her bra.

"Severus?" She leaned back and looked at him surprised.

"I've been, uh," he said as he looked down at his lap that had one of her legs draped across it. "I've been practicing."

She smiled at him and leaned in to continue to kiss him. His hand nervously went back up her top and skirted the edge of her bra, which although lose, was still in place. She arched her back towards him, telling him it was okay to touch her and he slowly pushed the bra up over her breast.

The feel of his warm, almost quivering hand, on her soft skin was almost her undoing. She moaned softly and kneaded his inner thigh as he massaged her breast and tweaked her nipple.

Her hand moved from his thigh to his crotch and when she cupped him he jumped back, slightly started.

"Oh, do you not want me to..." she said embarrassed as she pulled her hand back. She was as inexperienced at this as he was.

"No, no, it's just," he said as he bowed his head and his face was covered with his hair.

"Just what?" She asked as she leaned down to look up at his hidden face.

"I'm just so aroused right now I don't..." he paused to close his eyes. "I don't want to make a mess."

"Oh!" She said, realization dawning on her. "Sorry, I..."

"It's okay," he said softly as he looked tentatively in her eyes. "Just be careful."

"Careful? OK," she agreed, not really knowing what careful meant. She decided as he resumed massaging her breast that careful meant massaging his inner thigh but not his crotch.

His thumb and forefinger methodically circled and pulled at her nipple and she felt an orgasm building as his other hand reached under her shirt and started to do the same with her other breast. She had never known her nipples to be that sensitive.

A loud announcement suddenly broke them apart, startled. "All Quidditch players involved today's game must meet for a discussion of fair play in Professor Heyward's classroom in five minutes. That's Professor Heyward's classroom in five minutes."

"Shit!" Severus swore as he laid his head on her shoulder with a thump.

"It's because of the last game between Gryffindor and Slytherin, isn't it?" She asked as she patted his back.

"Too many rule violations and injuries," he said from somewhere buried against her.

"Please be careful today," Hermione said as he raised his head to look at her and pulled his hands away from her breasts. "It would be easy for Sirrius or James to use the game as a means to get at you."

"I know," he said softly as he reached around and attempted to do up her bra with his clumsy fingers.

"What? No wandless magic?" She asked with a chuckle.

"I was concentrating on getting it undone," he said with a sly grin as he continued to fumble. "Not on doing it up."

"I'll do it," she said as she reached around back and quickly snapped it back in place.

When she looked back at him, he raised his hand to hold the side of her face gently. "Hermione, I...you're amazing."

She smiled at him and noted the gentleness in his expression. "So are you, Severus."

He shifted uncomfortably beneath her and she pulled her one leg off her lap.

"Did you learn a spell for that?" She said with a raised eyebrow as she pointed at his tented pants.

His face reddened and he looked out the window beside them. "A cold shower, or today, a brisk walk outside to Heyward's class."

She smiled at him and patted his chest. "You better go."

He nodded and they both stood up together attempting to fix their rumpled clothing.

"You'll be there tonight?" He asked as he grabbed her hand.

"Yes," she smiled at him. "Good luck."

He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips before he quickly walked away down the hall. In that moment Hermione thought she saw his robes billow.

********************************************

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore said a half hour later as they met in his office. "I want your counterparts in 1997 to try a dreamless sleep potion..."

"But we have sir, several days ago," she said, interrupting him. "It had no effect."

"No child, there's a special brew that I think your potions master would have in his stores," he said thoughtfully. "It's quite potent and usually only used in cases of psychosis but I would like to see if it kept you out of 1977 one night."

"Why wouldn't he have suggested it, sir?" She asked, interested.

"Because it can have some bizarre side effects," the Headmaster said as he picked up a book and read. "It could result in night terrors while under it, the patient is sometimes subject to self harm, and it usually results in a high fever that could cause seizures if not treated immediately."

"And this is what you want me to try?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "No wonder Severus hasn't mentioned it."

"No, you are right," he said thoughtfully as he placed the book down. "Severus' feelings for you have kept him from exploring this option, although I'm sure I've already mentioned it to him in 1997."

"His feelings for me?" She said quietly.

"Miss Granger, your close relationship with him in this time must affect the way he looks at you in your present. You are a woman he cares very deeply for. I see the way he looks at you."

She swallowed audibly.

"In 1977," she added.

"You are 18, and a beautiful, intelligent young woman. I'm sure that his role as your professor in 1997 is complicating everything a great deal for him, but don't doubt those feelings probably live on in both times."

Hermione suddenly paled. Sure he had been acting strangely around her, but she had believed his behaviour was caused by his inability to control the situation in 1977. She had assumed his anger, his possessiveness, was because she was not acting as he would like. That she was upsetting him. Never had it occurred to her that he was as interested in her in the present as in the past.

Hermione nodded her head. "I will tell Dumbledore about this trial and we'll start it tonight."

"If it works," Dumbledore said as he rose from his seat to walk her to the door. "You can't take this repeatedly but, perhaps we can break the potion down and see if we can't brew something that will keep you in one timeline without sacrificing your health."

"Thank you, sir," Hermione nodded before she left his office


	5. Chapter 5

Hermione took a deep breath before she knocked on her Potions Professor's office door.

"Come," he called from inside.

She walked in cautiously, unsure of what his reaction may be to their make-out session in 1977.

"Sir," she said when he didn't even look up. "I have the article summaries you asked for."

She placed the parchment on the edge of his desk and waited. He still had not looked at her, but rather seemed to be winding something in his hands.

"And what have you found?" He asked as he played with the object, a watch, near his lap.

"That Syed's theory, although sound, does not completely explain the random disillusionment." She said as she shifted her feet. "He's able to control it with his potion, but not cure it because he doesn't understand the basic premise of why it occurs."

"And why is it not good enough to control?" He asked, almost sounding bored.

"Because sir, the moment a patient misses their dosage, they are subject to random disillusionment again. Curing it would mean that they wouldn't have to always be medicated."

"And so?" He asked, as he cleaned a finger nail.

"So, he failed to discover why these particular individuals are randomly disillusioning. If we can get to the source of the problem, we can possibly find a cure instead of just a treatment."

"And the other articles?" He asked as his eyes glanced toward the pile of parchments.

"The...the other articles," she started, feeling completely uncomfortable with his neglect of her. "The other articles support his treatment but only one seeks to find the cause."

"And who is that?" He asked as he played with the edge of his desk.

"Persaud," she said as she looked at him more closely. He didn't appear to have shaved this morning. "He postulates that it is the wizard or witches chi, taking the term from eastern religions, that subjects them to this illness. It is not in balance and bringing it...sir, is something wrong?"

"No," he said quickly. "Continue."

"Uh, bringing the chi in balance will take away the condition."

"And is this avenue of research sound?" He asked as he picked a piece of lint off his jacket.

"Uh, no," she said as she cleared her throat. "It doesn't take magical elements into consideration and..."

"Enough!" He said as he reached for a quill and scribbled something on a piece of parchment. "Research these articles and report back to me in 3 days."

He dropped the list on her pile of parchment and picked up a nearby book and began to read. He had not looked at her once.

She picked up the parchment and looked at the short list. She then looked up at him.

"Sir, if this is about yesterday..."

"Dismissed!" he said forcefully.

She looked at his rigid body language and decided to not push her luck.

"Thank you," she said before she ducked out of his office.

"Thank you for assisting with this Madam Pomfey," Hermione said as she fluffed a pillow and crawled into her bed. "Do you have enough to read? Is the fire warm?"

"I'm fine dear," Madam Pomfey said as she walked toward Hermione with a potion. "It's a good thing you're Head Girl or else we'd have to do this in the Infirmary and I've got two cases of dragon's measles I've been itching to get away from."

Madam Pomfey laughed at her own joke.

Hermione snickered nervously with her. She was feeling a little tense about this experiment.

"They aren't bad children, but they do whine a great deal," she said as she handed Hermione to potion. "You need to drink the entire thing. Professor Snape measured it out for your body weight so the dosage should be exact."

"Do you think this will work?" Hermione asked.

"Time will tell," Madam Pomfey asked as she watched the girl swallow the liquid. "Apparently Dumbledore had wanted to try it over a week ago, but our dear Potions professor objected."

"Why?" Hermione asked.

"Oh my dear," she said as she touched Hermione's forehead. "Some people can have horrible reactions to this, which is why I'm staying with you and why I have potions on hand in case you have some reactions."

"Why did he finally agree?" Hermione asked the mediwitch.

"Who knows why Professor Snape does anything dear," Madam Pomfey said as she put out the lights in the room. "But when Albus approached him, he agreed."

Hermione didn't like the sounds of her answer. It seemed as though Professor Snape was trying to rid his 1977 self of her by whatever means possible.

"Good night dear," Madam Pomfey said as a small light went on in the corner of Hermione's room. The mediwitch was sitting in a wingback chair with a novel in her hands.

"Good night," Hermione said as she felt sleep slowly take a hold of her

***********************************  
Poppy Pomfey was startled when Severus Snape floo'd into the Head Girl's room just after midnight.

"Severus!" She said sharply. "What are you doing here?"

"You are needed in the infirmary Poppy," he said as he looked at Hermione sleeping soundly in her bed. "A fifth year Gryffindor seems to have tried to harm herself. Minerva is with her now."

"Oh my goodness!" Poppy said as she walked towards the floo.

"Have there been...?"

"No, sleeping soundly," Poppy said out of sorts. "I will return as soon as I can."

"I'm sure we'll be fine Poppy," he said as he squeezed the witch's shoulder in a rare moment of friendly contact. "You take care of Miss Howser."

"Oh my," Poppy said as she tossed floo powder into the fireplace and disappeared.

Severus stood watching the girl's even breathing for several minutes before he moved over to the chair Poppy had vacated. He picked up the book she was reading, in hopes of enjoying it for the next few hours.

"Merlin's balls," he scoffed when he noticed it was a Harrliwitch Romance novel featuring a misunderstood wizard of ill-repute and a witch with amnesia lost in an enchanted forest.

He threw down the book and walked over to Hermione's bookshelf to proffer a tomb from her. He finally settled on a book about Aboriginal potions and settled in to read.

All was quiet for a few hours until he noticed Hermione starting to toss a little in her sleep. Up until that moment she had hardly moved. He put down his book and observed her from his seat across the room. The less contact with her the better.

He watched her mouth form unintelligible words across the room. She was still quite peaceful, and he decided it was probably a dream. Her hand smacked across her chest and pulled at the tank top that was covering her torso. She seemed to be plucking at it, as if the material was bothering her. His thoughts immediately went to his own hands pushing their way up her shirt.

He shook his head.

"Stop it!" his whispered harshly to himself.

Waking up that morning and realizing what he had done with Hermione had made him both aroused and disgusted with himself. It had been a long time since he had been kissed like that by a witch. He wasn't sure if he actually had ever been in a situation quite as arousing as that one before. He had shagged his share of women but it had been just that, a perfunctory act with the release as a goal. He had never simply kissed and touched a woman with not end goal of a fuck.

He was pulled from his thoughts by a wail from across the room as Hermione's body seemed to suddenly come to life. She kicked at her covers and flailed her arms around her bed, smacking one quite forcefully against a bedside table. That was going to leave a bruise.

Severus rose from his seat and walked quickly toward the witch. He lit his wand with a quick Lumos spell and looked down at her. It was then that he noticed a fine sheen of sweat all over her reddened skin. Her hair was wild, her body almost convulsing.

"Hermione," he said softly as she shook her shoulder trying to avoid getting swatted. "Hermione!"

His hand was wet from the sweat rolling off her body and he realized she was burning up with a fever.

"Invigaro!" He cast at her body which quickly stiffened causing her to smack her head hard against her headboard.

"Shit!" He snapped as he pulled her body forcefully away from the headboard and the bedside table to avoid further injury. Spells were not working on her. Any attempt at levitating her or freezing her motions may result in major damage to her person.

"Hermione!" He called to her forcefully as she continued to flail, yelling unintelligible words loudly. She was having a night terror or a fevered dream of some sort.

He waved his wand over her body and saw that she had a temperature of 104 degrees. She was in danger of seizing. He thought about calling Poppy but then decided she and Minerva had their hands full with the suicidal witch.

"You need to cool down," he said as he turned to look at the door to her private washroom.

"Aquino!" He cast toward the washroom as he heard the taps in her tub roar to life.

He needed to place her in a tepid bath, anything too cold she could go into shock, anything too hot and he made the fever worse.

"No!" She screamed as she fought some unknown demon before her.

He leaned down and scoped her up in his arms, walking to the washroom while trying to avoid dropping her spasming body or being hit.

He leaned down to place her gently in the tub and got smacked in the nose by a heavy hand.

"Shit!" He said as he restrained her hand from hitting him again. That was going to bruise.

He settled her body in the tub, fully clothed, and saw her relax slightly in her motions. She still was restless but not dangerous anymore. Turning to her cupboard he summoned a washcloth and took off his jacket, laying it across her vanity. Rolling up his sleeves he called for the water to stop and set to work dipping the washcloth in the water and placing it across her forehead. She relaxed in the water for about 10 minutes before the convulsions started again. This time they seemed far worse.

She smacked her arms and legs against the edges of the tub and he heard a bone crack. At a loss, and being unable to cast a spell to still her, he tried to hold her hands still only to see her head crack forcefully against the back of the tub.

"Fuck!" He yelled as he pulled her head up from the edge of the water and looked for any signs of bleeding as she continued to smack at him and kick in the water.

It was then that Severus decided to do something that was against every instinct he had for self preservation; physically, psychologically, emotionally, and professionally. He pushed her body forward and, spelling away his shoes, climbed, fully clothed, into the tub behind her, pinning her legs with his own as he wrapped them around her and hugging her arms tightly to her chest. She heaved against him, smacking his chest time and time again with her head and scratching at his arms with her nails.

He started to speak softly into her ear, telling her to calm down and that he was with her; anything to keep her from hurting either of them anymore. Her body started to relax and his grip on her eased. He noticed then that in holding her so tightly, he had probably bruised her arms.

"I'm sorry," he said as he dropped her arms into the tub and felt around for a washcloth near his hip. He wrung it out and placed it on her forehead listening to her sigh, contented.

When her legs stopped pushing against his, he untwined his and bent them around her body, easing his strained calf muscles from being tense for so long. He wiped her face with a cloth and allowed his own head to drop back against the back of the tub.

"Merlin, what have I gotten myself into?" He asked himself as he felt her back relax against his chest.

They sat like that for a long time, she asleep against his chest, and he willing himself to not respond to her closeness in any way. After a half hour of quiet, he felt her forehead and decided that her temperature was normal and he should get her out of the tub. It was when he shifted that she woke up.

"What?" She asked confused as she took in her surroundings.

"Don't be startled," he said quietly from behind her.

She practically jumped out of her skin. "Oh Merlin!"

He closed his eyes, he was hoping she'd stay asleep and he wouldn't have to explain.

"What are you...? Why are we...?" She asked as she pulled away from him and covered her chest.

"Please stand up, my legs are asleep and I need to get my circulation back," he said, offering her no answer.

She stood up cautiously in the tub and winced.

"Ankle?" He asked as he leaned forward and touched it.

"Yes," she said as tried to pull away.

"I thought it was a wrist at first, but I checked and both were fine," he said as he took his hand away from her skin.

"Severus, why are we in a tub clothed?" She asked as she touched the back of her head gently.

"You had a fevered dream or a night terror," he said as he sat forward and grabbed his chest in pain. "You weren't responding to magic and you were running a fever. You needed a cooling bath."

"Where's Madam Pomfey?" She asked as she gently stepped from the tub, holding the edge to quell her dizziness.

"Called away on an emergency," he winced as he stretched out his neck. "I took over for her."

"Why are you in the tub with me?" She asked as he stood up and his wet clothes clung to his body.

"You were harming yourself," he said as he accio'd a towel and handed it to her.

"That still doesn't explain..." she started as she dried her arms.

"I, unwisely, got in the tub behind you in a foolish attempt to keep you from hurting yourself further," he said as he accio'd a towel for himself and stepped from the tub next to her.

It was then that she noticed the scratches up his arms and his bruised nose.

"Oh, Severus," she said softly as she tenderly touched his face. "I'm so sorry."

"Think nothing of it," he said as he pulled away from her. "If you will change into some dry clothes I will stay in here until you call. Then I will repair your ankle and any other damage."

His eyes immediately went to the large bruises on her forearms, bruises he had caused by holding her. He let his eyes drop to the floor.

She nodded her head and hobbled into her bedroom, closing the door after her.

Severus walked over to her mirror and looked at himself. The sun was starting to come up in her small washroom window and she had not visited him in 1977. All he knew, as he searched his memory, was that she had been called away on a family emergency. He felt the loss of her intensely. He dried his clothes with a spell and, when she called to him, he went.


	6. Chapter 6

Hermione Granger wandered down the hall towards her Potions class thinking about the events of yesterday. She had not been in 1977 as usual, but rather had spent two days in a row in her present time. Part of her was thrilled they had managed some break in her time travel and a part of her longed for her 1977 self again.

Waking up in the tub with Severus had been interesting. It was obvious from his actions that he had been quite alarmed with her behaviour while sleeping. And, judging from the bruises she saw on both his body and hers, it had been an active nightmare. She remembered nothing of it. He was odd after she had changed out of her wet clothes; trying a small bruise repairing charm on her skin while looking at her with the most frightened expression she had ever seen on his face. When she pressed for more details about that night, he merely told her that she was unaware of what she was doing, and that he was sorry or the bruises he had caused.

She missed her first class of the morning with Ron but attended the rest of her day as normal. It was odd spending two days in 1997 in a row and she couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing something all day. For his part, Professor Snape gave a report to Albus about the events of the night and they had decided to start working with the potion to see if they could formulate something that would keep her in 1997. Hermione wasn't sure how she felt about that.

It was now December 17th in 1977 and Hermione had just finished explaining a fake car accident her father had been in. It was, as explained by Dumbledore, the reason she had gone home for a day. Everyone was actually quite surprised to see her back, thinking she'd stay with her family through the break. Hermione had calmly explained that he only had minor injuries and her mother had wanted her to go back to school to finish her projects and tests before the break. Now, Hermione reasoned, she would have to go 'home' and stay with her 1977 family because staying at Hogwarts would just look strange.

"I heard you were back," Severus said as he fell into step beside her. "How's your father?"

"Some minor cuts and bruises and a broken nose, but he's going to be fine, thanks," Hermione said with a weak smile.

"Thank Merlin," Severus said relieved. "I thought you'd just stay home through the break though."

"Mom said she had enough to deal with dad without me being underfoot," Hermione said as they opened the door to their classroom. "I'll be home for the holidays after all."

"I'm sure your parents will be happy about that," Severus said as he gently squeezed her shoulder.

"Yeah," Hermione said, trying to sound convincing.

**************************************

"What do my 1997 counterparts say about your night still spent in the present?" Albus Dumbledore asked as he leaned back against his desk.

"Uh, from what I gather, it was a difficult night for me," Hermione explained. "I sustained a broken ankle bone, many bruises, and a bang on my head. I don't actually remember the dream."

"And it's a good thing too," Abus said with a soft smile. "Dreams under this potion can be frightening, to say the least. The images that you were confronted with would seem very real and they would be horrific. It's a blessing to not remember."

"So I've been told," Hermione said as she slumped in her chair.

"And what are their plans?" Dumbledore asked.

"They are going to try some potion experiments on me to see if they can find a concoction that keeps me in 1997 but doesn't harm me as this one did."

"I see," Dumbledore said softly. "You don't like this plan?"

"No, it's just...I..." Hermione stumbled for her words.

"You've become quite happy here with us, haven't you?" Dumbledore inquired.

Hermione looked at her lap.

"You know child, this is not your time," he reminded her.

"But what if it is?" She asked as she looked up at him.

He sighed heavily. "But you and I both know it's not. You don't know what long term ramifications..."

"I know," she sighed.

"It'll be difficult to leave, but you know you must go Hermione," he said gently.

"I know," she sighed.

They sat in silence for several minutes before he stood upright.

"You won't be able to stay here over the holidays, with your father's accident," Dumbledore explained.

"Yes, I guess I'll just have to stay with my 1977 family who I know nothing about," Hermione said sarcastically.

"I actually have another solution Miss Granger," he said thoughtfully.

"I would like you to stay in a cottage Hogwarts owns," he said as he pulled out a piece of paper. "It's in Ireland and is used as a refuge for teachers, Headmasters and sometimes guests who need some time away from their duties. It's small and rather rustic but I think you can manage."

"All so I don't have to stay with strangers?" Hermione asked, surprised.

"That and the fact that I think the holidays might be a good time for Severus to run some potions experiments on you and, it would be hard to explain you disappearing a day at a time from your parents."

"Oh, yeah, I hadn't thought of that," Hermione said. "They'd have the police..."

"Exactly," Dumbledore said. "You should stay at the castle in 1997 and be monitored during these experiments but, it appears as though you arrive unscathed in 1977. I have no doubt you'll be fine on your own and, you might need some time to yourself after all this time travel."

"Thanks, Headmaster," Hermione smiled at him.

"I'll attach the floo and check in on you from time to time, but otherwise I'm sure you'll enjoy a relaxing break. Tell your friends you'll be at home though."

"Okay, I can do that." She smiled at him. "Thank you again, sir."

"I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yes," she said as she rose from her chair and made her way toward the door.

"Miss Granger, tell Severus I'm proud of him and am sure he'll come up with the right potion," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"I will, sir," she said softly before she left his office.

Dumbledore sat at his desk to write a letter to his future self. He needed to discuss something private between them that Miss Granger could not know about.

**********************************************

"You're really not staying, are you?" Lavinia asked that night in the Common Room.

"No, with my dad..." Hermione started.

"Not staying?" Remus Lupin asked as he walked past them. "I guess it'll just be you and me Lavinia-how cozy."

"Eww, Remus, no thank you!" Lavinia said in mock disgust.

"Be still my heart," Remus said as he fake stumbled. "You are such a romantic."

The girls broke out into giggles as he left their group.

"Is something...?" Glynnis asked her with a raised eyebrow.

"No!" Lavinia said assuredly. "he's a great bloke but...no."

"If you say so!" Matilda teased.

"I do." Lavinia said forcefully. "Now I'm alone with him. We have nothing in common. At least with you Mione...sorry, I don't mean that."

"What?" Hermione asked.

"You should be home with your dad," Lavinia said as she touched Hermione's arm. "I'm just being a selfish prat."

"Trust me, I'd rather be here too," Hermione said with a sigh. "You don't know what my mother's like when she goes into 'nurse mode'. It's scary."

"Oh, totally off topic, my dress arrived for the Yule Ball, finally," Matilda said with glee. "You'd think the witch's fashion house in Paris, of all places, couldn't get an order right."

The saga of Matilda's dress had been going on for days and Hermione was happy to see it resolved. She had received the proper dress but in the wrong length and had sent it back, hoping it could be switched in time. The girl had been fretting about going naked to the Ball for days. The fact that she had a trunk full of gorgeous dresses, ones that Hermione and Glynnis were borrowing, had no bearing on her anguish.

"Are you sure you won't come?" Hermione asked Lavinia.

"No, with you lot having dates, I don't want to be the odd witch out," she said.

"I'm going with my bloody cousin, that's not a date!" Matilda admonished her.

"But you are still going with someone. Hermione has Severus, and Glynnis has Peter," Lavinia explained.

"Don't remind me," Glynnis said with a groan.

"Then, why'd you say yes?" Hermione asked.

"Cause Sirrius had already asked Ramona Puce, who the hell do I care who I go with now?" Glynnis asked.

"So, enjoy the night with Peter, then," Matilda said nicely. "He's a great fellow and..."

"And not Sirrius," Glynnis said as she looked up at them. "I know what you lot think of him and how badly you want me to set my sights on someone else but...but it's not that easy."

"I know it's not," Hermione said gently. "But he's made his choice very clear Glynnis and the sooner you step away, the less it'll hurt."

"How would you know?" Glynnis said as she looked sharply at Hermione. "Severus is your first real boyfriend. You've never known heartache."

Glynnis rose from the group and stomped away.

The group got quiet for a minute and Lavinia shifted in her seat.

"He seems to really care for you Hermione." Lavinia noted.

"Yes, he looks at you so sweetly, honestly I hadn't really noticed him until you started up with him," Matilda agreed.

"He's perfect for you, you know that, right?" Lavinia said as she looked at Hermione seriously.

"We're very...happy together," Hermione said with a smile.

"Oh, it's more than happiness when you come back to the room looking as dishevelled as you did the other night. That's hot and bothered...not just happy."

The girls all giggled at her remark. When Hermione thought of Severus, she did feel happy, but she also felt an almost uncontrollable sexual attraction. But, she needed to think about her actions with Severus in 1977 before he got hurt. As much as she wanted to give into her hormones, it wasn't fair to him. She thought of how hurt Glynnis was over Sirrius. Hermione cared for Severus too much to do that to him.


	7. Chapter 7

Hermione Granger found herself standing outside Snape's private quarters on Wednesday after her morning classes. The rare event of him cancelling classes for the day had occurred and she had no other way of seeing him. Harry's Marauder's Map indicated he had been in his quarters all morning.

She needed to see him about the potion more than anything. 1977 Dumbledore had sent her with a note to 1997 Dumbledore that was sealed and, besides telling Severus that Dumbledore had faith in him, she was no help to anyone. She figured the least she could do with an afternoon free was to help Snape with the potion. That, and she had to admit, her curiosity over his possible feelings for her was taking up her every waking thought.

Yesterday, she had hardly seen Severus except for a quick conversation in the hall in the morning and an unexpected snog down an empty hallway off Divination. He had surprised her by pulling her into the shadows as she walked by and, at that moment, as she saw the gleam in his eyes at having fooled her, she caught a glimpse of the future spy. He had kissed her soundly, not having spoken a word, and then, just as rapidly, had pulled her back into the well lit hallway and walked with her upstairs. She had stumbled on several steps as she still felt the aftershocks of his high-intensity kiss.

As Hermione stood at the doorway waiting for Snape to answer her knock, a blush crept its way up her neck and her nether regions started to tingle at the thought of his body pressed against hers.

The door then whipped open and Severus Snape scowled down at her. "Miss Granger, why am I not surprised?"

He gestured for her to come inside and then shut the door behind her.

"Sir, I was thinking that maybe you needed help with the potion," she started as she took in the lush living room in which she was standing. A fire was crackling, some piano music was quietly playing in the background, and the lights were slightly dimmed.

"I could have used your help this morning, but, as I have already prepared the base, there is no need for help now," he said as he waved his wand and stopped the music.

"You should have called, I would've been happy to..."

"There was no need," he said dismissively. "Is there anything else?"

Hermione looked at him closely. He was not wearing his usual robes but rather a pair of casual black pants and a fitted grey crew neck sweater. Her mind immediately went to his body being pressed up against hers and she wondered if it would feel different or the same in 1997.

"How long does it have to...?"

"Are you really here to question the timing of the brew?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Um, well, I..." she stammered. "Uh, 1977 Dumbledore seemed to believe that you would want to run trials over the Christmas break and if that's the case..."

"I'm sorry, I forgot about your parents," he said, interrupting her, as he massaged his one temple. "You will need to inform them that you will be staying at the castle for the holiday. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes, thank you sir," she said as she bowed her head. "Can I ask what you are trying?"

"Come with me," he said as he walked toward a far door. He opened it and Hermione was caught off guard when she saw his own private brewing room.

"Severus this is...why it's fabulous," she said as she touched his shoulder.

It was when he pulled away slightly from her touch that she realized her error.

"I'm sorry, I meant professor," she said softly. "This what you've always wanted, sort of."

He nodded at her curtly and then walked toward the cauldron. "I've decided to try a variation on the original potion with a daily increase in the key ingredients of dragon's blood, elder flower and boa constrictor's venom"

"And so each night will be a different variation until..."

"Until you are no longer part of 1977 and we can go on as before," he said as he looked at her carefully.

He noticed a slight frown fall onto her features. He chastised himself to not ask but, before he could stop himself, the words flew from his mouth.

"You don't seem pleased?"

"Well, I..." she stammered before she looked at him and sighed. "Can we just talk as friends for a moment?"

"Friends?" He asked with a sneer.

"As Severus and Hermione, not teacher and student?" She asked with a hopeful look.

"I'm not sure what you..." he began.

"Damn it Severus!" She snapped at him. "You know exactly what I mean!"

He paused for a moment, not sure how to take her outburst. If he gave into her request he was walking a dangerous line between professor and student. But, no professor or student, to his knowledge had been in this predicament before. If he refused, he would just be alienating someone he had grown to respect and care for; even if she didn't know that.

"Come," he said with a flick of his hand as he gestured for them to leave the brewing room.

He summoned a flask of fire whisky and some tarts held in stasis on his mantle, and gestured for her to have a seat on his couch. He sat down comfortably in his chair near the fire and looked at her as the fire whisky was poured into the two tumblers before them.

He swallowed hard and after almost a minute of silence began," so why are you not pleased to be leaving 1977, Hermione?"

She visibly relaxed at his use of her first name. "I think that, sometimes, my life is better there."

"How so?" He asked as he reached for his glass to take a drink.

"I have a bunch of girlfriends that I really like and, don't get me wrong I love Ron and Harry and, really, where would they be sometimes if I didn't pull them out of the fire? But, there's something about girlfriends, Severus."

"You like Glynnis, Lavinia and Matilda," he observed.

"They are wonderful and so...so different from one another, yet it all works," she smiled at him as she too reached for her glass. "Glynnis is so brave yet quite vulnerable and Matilda is so proper and spoiled but still nice, and Lavinia is so studious and serious all the time...they...they allow me to be someone I'm not when I'm here."

"And who's that?"

She paused in thought for a moment. "One of the girls."

"And you are not here? Miss Weasley and Miss Brown and...and the others? They are not your friends?"

"Not, really," Hermione said with a sigh. "I'm not a girl to them, I'm a bookworm. Ginny likes me because we spend our summers together but she and I are very different. Lavender and Pavarti, well they kind of make fun of me. They look at me like I'm clueless about social things and makeup and, stuff like that."

"And makeup is important to you?" He asked, surprised.

"It's not," she smiled at him and joked. "Can't you tell?"

"I don't think you need makeup, personally," he said in all seriousness.

She swallowed hard. "Thank you."

"So this being 'one of the girls' is worth giving up your current life for?" he asked as he watched her carefully.

"You're also in 1977," she said quietly as she met his eyes.

"Hermione, I didn't take you for a fool who would follow your heart, when your head should be telling you to run!" He snapped at her as he rose from his seat.

"Run? Why?" She asked, surprised at his outburst.

"Because in one year's time, I will be a Death Eater! Is that the future you want for yourself? To be the wife of a Death Eater? To have children with a Death Eater? To hold court with the Dark Lord? Possibly to join his army?" He snapped at her as his body shook with anger.

"No, of course not!" She snapped at him and stood as well, her body rigid with anger. "But maybe if I were in your life you wouldn't join!"

"What?!" He snapped. "That's what this is all about?! You are trying to save me?!" He yelled as spittle flew from his mouth and his face got more harsh and red. "Well you can stop your ruse! I don't wish to be saved!"

"What ruse?" She snapped back as she took a step towards him. "I am with you because I care for you, but if caring for you may mean that you don't become a Death Eater than that is one of the side benefits!"

"And the other side benefit is to make a fool of me?!" He yelled harshly.

"How am I making a fool of you?!" She yelled back. "I love you, damn it!"

As soon as the words flew from her mouth she gasped and threw a hand over her lips. He visibly paled and took a step back from her looking at her with wide eyes.

"I'm um..." she said as tears formed in her eyes. She grabbed her bag and ran from his rooms, smacking into a crowd of students in the hallway outside reading the homework notice he had posted. They all looked at her with wide eyes, and, although they hadn't heard the conversation, they had heard the muffled yells both male and female.

"Was that Hermione Granger?" One Hufflepuff girl asked as she watched her retreating form. "Why was she in Snape's private rooms yelling at him?"

"They were yelling at each other," a Ravenclaw boy noted. "I didn't know students were allowed in the Professor's private rooms."

"They're not," said another Ravenclaw girl with a smile.


	8. Chapter 8

As Hermione sat at the breakfast table eating with her friends in 1977 she couldn't have been happier to be there. Her declaration of love to her potions professor had caused her to have a minor meltdown in Moaning Myrtle's washroom that lasted most of the afternoon yesterday.

After her pacing, crying and verbal self-flagellation was done she emerged to a world of rumour and innuendo about herself and Severus. As if it wasn't bad enough dealing with time travel, NEWTs, her studies, her friends and her Professor-slash-boyfriend, she now had to deal with the Hogwarts gossip mill. By the time she reached the Gryffindor common room she'd heard everything from Snape expelling her, to a torrid romance between professor and student.

Harry was waiting for her when she arrived and nodded for her to follow him up to his rooms to talk privately. He had asked about the incident with Snape and she had lied and said it had to do with her Independent Project; that Snape was making her start from scratch again. This Harry understood. He breathed a sigh of relief and promptly started to spread the version Hermione had invented. But, by bedtime that night, the rumours were still flying and, as Hermione lay down to sleep, she was happy to escape 1997 for a day.

"You're off in space!" Glynnis said as she waved a croissant in front of Hermione's face.

"Oh, sorry," Hermione shrugged sheepishly. "Just thinking about NEWTs."

"I'm thinking about the Yule Ball," Matilda said softly. "I just love getting dressed up and dancing, even if it is just with my cousin."

The Yule Ball was in two days on the 20th and the whole school seemed to be buzzing about the night of teenage fun and merriment before the holiday. Hermione was excited about spending it with Severus and, knowing they were testing the potion over the holidays, realized it may be the last time she saw his 17 year old self. She was determined to not things more uncomfortable between she and her professor, but also didn't want to hurt Severus 2 days before the Ball. She was going to have to walk a fine line for a couple of days.

"Speaking of Yule Balls...where's your escort to Divination Hermione?" Glynnis said as she eyed the Slytherin table. "He's not a breakfast this morning."

"Severus must be going directly to class," Hermione said with a hint of worry. "I'm sure we'll see him there."

"Wanna head up early?" Glynnis asked. "I was hoping to ask Proudfoote if I could have Sirrius as my partner for..."

"Glynnis!" Lavinia snapped. "Will you never learn?"

"Nope!" Glynnis said with a wicked smile as she got up from the table. "Coming?"

"Sure," Hermione said as she grabbed her bag and followed her friend. "See you two in Arithmancy!"

Matilda and Lavinia waved them off and went back to eating.

When they got to Divination they heard raised voices in the classroom. Hermione could hear Severus' voice anywhere and the other belonged to Professor Proudfoote. Both she and Glynnis leaned into the door to listen but still heard very little. Severus was calling the professor Lena and she was saying his name in a tone that made Hermione uncomfortable.

"Should we go in?" Glynnis mouthed to Hermione.

Hermione shook her head vigorously. If Severus was upset he wouldn't want Glynnis to see. Glynnis cracked open the door slightly so they could hear more.

"Be reasonable, Lena," Severus said in an almost pleading tone. "Is this really what you want?"

"I want you," Professor Proudfoote said without a falter. "And I think you want the same thing I do, Severus."

Hermione's eyes went wide and Glynnis looked at her shocked.

"I don't think you know what I want," Severus said coolly. "I don't think you know me at all. It's not exactly a sound basis for..."

"I know you better than you think," Professor Proudfoote said silkily. There was a rustle of material that seemed to indicate the movement of her colourful flouncy robes.

Then they heard the distinct sound of someone whacking someone else's hand or arm.

"Stop it!" Severus hissed.

"I will allow you to have your fun with your little mudblood," Professor Proudfoote said.

"Don't you call her that!" He snapped just as Glynnis pulled her wand. Hermione stopped her friend and leaned in to listen some more.

"Fuck her like mad, get this...fetish out of your system if you must," Proudfoote said with venom.

"We're through here!" He snapped as they heard footsteps headed towards the door they were listening through.

"You will marry me in one years time Severus, it's all been arranged by our families," she called after him. "You might as well get used to it. It'll make it easier for both of us!"

Hermione and Glynnis moved away from the door, expecting Severus to come through it any second but his footsteps stopped. Hermione's heart was in her throat and she felt as though she may throw up at any moment. Glynnis was rubbing circles on her back, trying to calm her down.

"I feel sorry for you Lena," he said with venom. "You are so vile a person, that no one would want to marry you so you force our parents into this degradation of a marriage contract."

"You will find Severus, that contracts are not the only place in a marriage where I like a bit of force," she said creepily.

"I will not marry you!" He snapped. "They can throw me fucking Azkaban! Or I'll leave the country before I'd spend one day as your husband! And as for Hermione, she's not a fetish that I need to get out of my system. I hope one day she'll be my wife. Not because we are forced, but because of love. Something you will never know Lena!"

Professor Proudfoote started to laugh a wicked, evil laugh as the door opened and Severus paused at her words. "So opportunistic Severus! You'll never get out of this contact with me!"

Severus took a step out into the hallway and immediately saw Hermione and Glynnis.

"Hermione!" He gasped.

At the sound of her name she took off down the stairs of the Astronomy tower with Severus and Glynnis close at her heels. She ran down random hallways, looking to get away from him, away from everything she'd heard, away from the heart-wrenching ache she felt in her chest. Her feet carried her through groups of people, past yelling teachers, and out into the small rose garden, drenched in snow, where she felt as though she breathed for the first time since she saw him.

She huffed and puffed and hunched over her legs, allowing the cold air to bring her back to the present. The present where she was a mudblood, where he was engaged to a vile woman, the present where, just yesterday she had hoped she had a future with him. How stupid she was!

When he touched her back she flinched.

"Hermione?" He said softly as he stood slightly away from her, as if she was a scared animal he needed to cautiously approach.

"Is it true?" She asked as tears ran down her cheeks.

"That I wish to marry you one day? Yes." He said softly, knowing he was evading her real question but hoping this answer would provide her with much needed reassurance. "I'm thinking after we are done university."

She cried even harder.

"You don't have to marry me, you know," he tried to joke as he rubbed her back. "It was just an idea..."

She continued to heave with raking sobs.

"My mother and her parents bound us in a marriage contract two days ago," Severus said as he sat on a nearby bench. "We have one year until the nuptials."

"Why didn't you...why didn't you tell me?" She asked as she wiped her eyes.

"You were away with your family," he said softly. "How do I tell you something like this after your dad had that accident?"

"You just do!" She snapped at him.

He nodded his head. "I'm sorry, I was going to tell you after the break, after I had a chance to speak with my mom personally and nullify the contract. I thought it would make a funny story when we returned."

"It...it can be nullified?" She asked as she sat next to him. She wasn't even sure why she wanted to know. By all accounts she may be gone from this timeline by the start of the new term.

"I hope so," he admitted. "I don't know much about wizarding law and I thought I would do some research over the holiday."

"And if it can't?" She asked him, genuinely interested to know if he would go through with it.

"I won't marry that woman," he said steadfastly. "If you heard what was said...I would leave the country before I would be bound to that vile woman for life."

"Oh Severus," she said as she launched herself at him and hugged him tightly. "Please don't marry her, whatever you do..."

Then something suddenly hit her. Professor Snape had said he would be a Death Eater in one year's time. The wedding was scheduled for one year's time. Did Severus join the Death Eaters to void his marriage contract with Proudfoote?

"Don't do anything rash!" She amended. "Leave the country before you marry her but...but just don't do anything else rash."

"Okay," he chuckled as he held her tightly. "I promise."

She smiled up at him and he wiped her wet cheeks with his fingers. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way."

"So am I," she agreed.

"Uh, what I said back there," Severus stammered. "I...I do love you Hermione."

"Sever..." she started to interrupt.

"I know we've only been together for 3 weeks, but, but there's something going on between us that I can't explain," he said softly as he looked into her eyes. "I feel like I know you better than I've ever known anyone. I trust you implicitly. I think of you all the time. I long for you Hermione. You may not love me now, but I hope, one day, that will happen. Until then, I just wanted you to know how I feel."

"I love you too," she breathed out quickly as if the words were her air.

He smiled a 100 watt grin at her and leaned down to kiss her soundly. She wrapped her arms around him and forgot about her Potions Master that would not be pleased, his fiancée who would not like this, and the fact that she was going to break both their hearts when she left. Instead, she just leaned in to the kiss.


	9. Chapter 9

"I feel I should explain," he began as she walked into his empty classroom.

Hermione had been dreading seeing him since she told him her feelings, and since his 17 year old self had shared his. She had spent a great deal of the previous day wrapped up in his arms skipping classes. Sure they had kissed and made out, but most of the day had been spent talking to each other about their hopes and dreams; about their pasts and their future. Hermione knew, in her heart, they had no future in 1977, but after the horrible last few days she wanted to just pretend for a while.

Then, she was shocked when she received an owl this morning summoning her to Professor Snape's classroom. She assumed that he would want to avoid her as much as she wanted to stay away from him. The whole situation, of her having feelings for him, felt slightly humiliating. And, after the rumours flying around Hogwarts in 1997 she figured he would want to avoid any misunderstanding of impropriety.

"No, Professor, I should," she said as she closed the door behind her. "I know I said I would try and temper any sort of physical relationship and yesterday..."

"Sit down," he interrupted her, not unkindly.

"Okay," she said, unsure of what was to come. He didn't sound like he was about to ream her out.

She walked to the front of the classroom and sat in the first row on a stool. To her surprise, he stood and walked from his desk to sit on a stool beside her facing her.

"Dumbledore brought me into his office late yesterday to speak with me about...a number of things, and I'm passing that information along to you." He said as he straightened his jacket stiffly. "He felt it would be better coming from me, as I am the other affected party, and that you would be less embarrassed."

"Em-Embarrassed?" Hermione asked in a stutter.

"When you arrived in 1977 and explained your situation to the Dumbledore of that time, he placed an undetectable tracking device on you," he said as he saw her face twist. "He did this so, if he needed to, he could find you wherever you were. Originally that was the only purpose."

"Originally?" She asked.

"When he saw you meeting people, becoming friends, dating...he enhanced the tracking device."

"Enhanced?" She asked, perplexed.

"It is a rudimentary form of wizard spy-ware. He could look through your eyes at any given time during the day, when activated, and see what you see. He could also feel what you feel."

"So he saw everything I saw?" She asked, thinking of her changing in front of a mirror or shaving her legs in the shower.

"Only when he accessed it and," Snape put up his hand to halt her interruption. "He said he stayed away from all times when you could be changing or showering."

"I feel so violated," she mumbled as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"You should. He has recently realized his error, and removed the tracking device from you two days ago," Snape said as he shifted uncomfortably, knowing what the next question would be.

"Why the change of heart?" She asked.

"He...he accidentally looked in on one of our...romantic interludes," he said as his face reddened. "He broke the connection but not before he was made aware of our growing...desire."

"Oh," Hermione said as she turned into a tomato and looked pointedly at her lap.

"He sent a letter through with you to present day Dumbledore, informing him of the situation," Snape said as he fiddled with the edge of his robes. "Which was when I was called to his office."

"Oh," she said, as realization hit her. "And after our argument in your rooms and..."

"Precisely," Snape said softly.

"I reassured Dumbledore that there was not anything going on between us, presently, and then asked him to verify it through my Pensieve memories." Snape explained as he ran his hand along the edge of the desk in front of him. "He was assured that there was not any impropriety but, wanted us to have a talk about..."

"The situation?" She asked.

"Sort of," he said as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

She sat looking between his closed eyes and his fiddling fingers. After almost a minute of silence he opened his eyes and began to speak.

"We both have feelings for each other in 1977," he said awkwardly. "We are two seventeen year old hormonal teenagers who are attracted to one other, and have a lot in common."

"Agreed," she said nodding her head and hoping the conversation wouldn't get worse.

"But, the feelings...the...actions, need to remain in 1977," he said before he cleared his throat. "I hold no illusions about where your feelings are directed Miss Granger, I am sure it's just my 17 year old self that you are attracted to."

Her eyes widened and she started to bite her lower lip.

"That being said," he said as he adjusted his coat again. "All this is happening as if it's the present for us and there can, therefore, be a misunderstanding of where those feelings...belong."

She just looked at him waiting for him to continue.

"I am enjoying your company in 1977 Miss Granger, but in 1997, irregardless of our past, we are currently teacher and student and I am a very different person than my 17 year old self."

"Not really," she said, her voice hoarse from non-use throughout this conversation.

"Excuse me?" He asked, one eyebrow rose.

"In 1977 you are sarcastic, honourable, passionate, brilliant, and loyal," Hermione said as she looked at him carefully. "I see those traits in the 1997 man as well; some are just a little more...edgy."

"Edgy?" He asked with a smirk.

"Severus, I would like to be able to talk with you as a friend now as well as then," she said as she picked at a fingernail nervously. "I can't compartmentalize my friendship with you. I want to know your thoughts and opinions now as much as I do in 1977."

"Can't or won't?" He asked.

She looked at him with a slight grin.

"See I know you better now too," he said thoughtfully. "You are choosing not to do this, Hermione."

"I like you, as a person, is that so difficult to understand?" She asked with a bit of snap to her voice. "I know you are a changed person, different because of your experiences, but I would hope that we could still be friends now. I'm...I'm going to be leaving 1977 sometime soon and it would be nice if I didn't have to leave you too."

"The romance stays in 1977?" He asked. "You will not speak of our past to others?"

"Yes," she agreed.

"Then I believe I could be your friend, outside of school," he said thoughtfully.

"Outside of...?" She asked, confused.

"When school is not in session," he clarified. "And after graduation, I would have no trouble continuing as your friend."

"But you would ignore me all other times?" She asked, not really liking this agreement.

"I would treat you as I would any other student," he said as he stood up from his seat.

"And what do you want me to do about...us," she gestured between their two bodies as she stood as well. "In 1977?"

"That was the other topic Dumbledore hoisted upon me last night," he said as he walked to his desk and opened a drawer.

"He wants us to break up," she said sadly.

"No," Snape said as he picked up a pouch and walked toward her. "He thinks it would be too damaging to my past self. He's concerned about me being even more horrible today than I already am."

"How awful! He said that to you?" She asked.

"In a matter of speaking," he said as he nervously balled up his fist carrying the pouch. "Can I ask what your intentions are with me?"

"I'm sorry?" She asked as her face reddened again.

"Forgive me for being so blunt, Hermione, but my 17 year old self is going to want to get in your knickers anytime now and you need to either claim you will not sleep with anyone until married or...or..."

"Or what?" She asked, leaning into his frame as she looked at him shifting awkwardly.

"Or use these," he said as he swiftly handed her the pouch and cleared his throat and started to babble. "I charmed them to look of the era but they are much better quality than was available at the time. And Dumbledore and I are unsure as to whether any charms or wizarding forms of birth control would be effective with the time jumps. Furthermore..."

"Condoms?" She asked as she peered into the pouch and felt her heart leap into her throat.

"Yes," he said as he pulled at the collar of his shirt. "In no way am I suggesting that we...that you and I...that you should or that it's..."

"If I claimed I was waiting until I was married?" She asked, for the sake of clarification.

"I might try and take you to the altar," he said quietly with a slight chuckle.

She laughed uncontrollably at his words and placed a hand on his chest to hold herself upright. For the first time since she touched him in 1997 he didn't flinch away.

"Oh Severus!" She said as tears streamed down her face. "I can't believe it has come to this!"

"Come...come to what?" He asked, worried.

"You and the Headmaster as planning my sex life and birth control choices," she said between laughs as she gasped for breath.

"I assure you, if there was a baby produced, the future ramifications would not be funny," he said in all seriousness.

"But it is funny..." she said as she continued to laugh a little more pitifully. "I'll be losing my virginity in 1977 to a boy I love but will never see again, and everyday look at him as a man, knowing I have no future with him. What isn't funny about that?"

It was then that she started to cry instead of laugh. Without thinking of the consequences, he reached out and held her in his arms as she sobbed against him, clutching the pouch to her chest.

"Don't...don't do this," he said as he patted her hair. "It's too much for you, and I'll bloody understand, I do have a brain, and I do love you very much."

"You really do?" She asked as she looked up at him.

"In 1977," he felt the need to clarify. "I love you, Hermione."

She closed her eyes at his words and took a deep breath.

"Claim you have an infection, or you are waiting until marriage, or you don't feel that way about me or..."

"I'll think of something," she said as she breathed in the familiar scent of his robes.

"I mean it," he said as he pulled back from her and looked at her carefully. "The stress of these time shifts is getting to be too much for you and you shouldn't be adding sex into the equation...Dumbledore thought..."

"No, he was right to cover his bases just in case we..." she said as she wiped at her eyes. "It needed to be dealt with, just in case."

"Leave them here," he said as he looked at the pouch. "Then you definitely won't allow me to..."

"Don't worry Severus," she said as she stood back from him and straightened her robes. "I won't do anything."

He curtly nodded his head at her, relief washed over his face.

"Thank you for...for being my friend today," she said as she straightened her back. "I look forward to having you as a friend once again after I graduate."

He looked at her forceful chin, jutting out from her face, and knew she was done feeling sorry for herself.

"I will look forward to that as well," he said with a nod before he swept past her and toward his desk.


	10. Chapter 10

Hermione Granger felt like she was floating as she danced in Severus' arms. The only thing that kept her from believing it, was when he stepped on her feet every once in a while.

"Sorry," he said shyly as she winced. "I don't do this much."

"Its okay, Severus," she said as she smiled back at him and squeezed his shoulder. And, really it was. Despite her damaged toes, the night had been perfect; one she always had wanted.

Matilda's blue dress was a perfect fit and did highlight Hermione's eyes. Severus had commented several times throughout the night how beautiful she looked. He also looked dapper in his dress robes and had been a perfect gentleman all night; getting her drinks, escorting her places, and making her feel both loved and protected. They had danced to both fast and slow songs and laughed most of the night with their friends. She had enjoyed dancing with Glynnis and Matilda and all the other 7th years and for the first time in her life, felt like she was the life of the party. She wasn't nervous or guarded around anyone and it felt quite liberating. She had sat and talked to people she hardly knew about a variety of subjects and had genuinely enjoyed the conversations.

She felt beautiful and appreciated and that was the best part of this experience.

"Penny for your thoughts," Severus said as he leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"This is the best night of my life," she said wistfully as they continued to dance.

"I'm glad," he smiled down at her as he squeezed her hand in his. "It's almost done though, only a couple of songs to go and then I turn into a mouse."

She laughed at his Cinderella joke. "And I a maid in rags."

"Never!" He said dramatically then looked at her thoughtfully, "maybe a pumpkin."

She swatted at his chest and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "A pumpkin, indeed."

"Come, let's get some air," he said as he pulled at her hand.

Just before they left the Great Hall he cast a warming charm over the two of them.

She followed him into the garden and they walked away from the couple snogging by a hedge and toward a bench near a slope that looked out onto the grounds. He gestured for her to sit and he sat next to her, their thighs touching through their clothes.

"It's so beautiful with the moonlight on the snow," she said softly.

"Indeed," he said quietly back to her. "I've had a wonderful time tonight Hermione."

"So, have I," she said as her eyes veered toward the moon.

He looked over at her exposed neck and swallowed hard. She was gorgeous.

Just then there was a rustling in a nearby bush. Severus stood up abruptly and pulled out his wand, Hermione grabbed hers as well.

"Come out!" He commanded in a voice that gave no room for argument. He stood in front of Hermione, partially shielding her from whatever was in the bush.

"It's alright, put your wand down!" a familiar voice said as Glynnis suddenly appeared straightening her dress and brushing off snow.

"Glynnis!" Hermione said as she put her wand away and Severus did the same.

"What the hell were you doing back there?" Severus asked as he offered her his arm to pull her onto the walkway. She took it and was soon standing beside them.

"Uh, nothing," she said as she turned red and looked back towards the bush. Severus followed the path of her eyes and his face twisted in horror.

"Come out you cad!" Severus called to the bush as he pulled out his wand again.

"No, its okay, let's just..." Glynnis said as she pulled on his arm.

"Severus what...?" Hermione was asking.

"Are you harmed?" Severus asked as he studied Glynnis.

"I'm fine, Severus," she assured him as she tried to pull them away. "Let's just..."

"Protecting everyone now, are you Snivellus?" the voice of Sirius Black snapped at them as he emerged from the bush.

"What...what have you done to her?" Severus stammered as the boy emerged and stepped onto the walkway.

"Nothing you would know about in your virginal splendour," Sirius taunted him as he tried to get his balance. It was obvious he was drunk.

"Did he hurt you?" Severus called over his shoulder to Glynnis as he kept an eye on Sirius.

"No, Severus, we..." Glynnis started.

"She fucked me willingly like a good whore, Snivellus," Sirius said quite loudly catching the attention of the other couple who had been snogging nearby. "Something you'll never have-a willing cunt."

Severus cast a stinging hex at Sirrius and the drunkard immediately reached for his groin area, falling down in pain.

"No!" Glynnis called as she started for Sirius.

Hermione grabbed her arm and yelled at her friend, "Glynnis, did you hear what he called you?"

"Let me go!" Glynnis yelled at her. "He's had too much to drink and..."

"No!" Hermione said as she refused to release her arm. "He's an ass, Glynnis!"

"What's the meaning of this?" Professor Slughorn called out as he approached the group. "Who cast the hex?"

"I did, sir," Severus said as he handed over his wand.

"Severus?" Professor Slughorn asked, shocked.

"Sirius was insulting Glynnis, sir, he was calling her horrible names," Hermione said as a distraught Glynnis started to cry beside her.

Meanwhile Sirius rolled around on the ground in pain.

"Severus, go to your dormitory and I'll deal with you later," Professor Slughorn instructed him. "This boy needs Madam Pomfey."

Professor Slughorn helped Sirrius to his feet and cringed when the stench of alcohol hit him. He then levitated Sirius out of the garden.

"He'll never speak to me again!" Glynnis yelled with tears streaming down her face as she ran from the garden and into the Great Hall.

The other couple who had been snogging, went into the Great Hall to share the story, leaving Hermione and Severus alone.

"Hermione, I'm sorry, this is not how the night should have ended," he apologized as he shifted his feet and studied them.

She reached out and, grabbing his chin, forced him to look into her eyes.

"You are a good man, Severus Snape," she said before she leaned in and softly kissed him on the lips.

He smiled at her as she pulled back from the kiss.

"Sirius Black is a moron and I'm starting to think Glynnis is too," Hermione said as she looked back toward the doors to the Great Hall and crossed her arms over her body.

"He's no gentleman," Severus agreed as he pulled her into his body frame and ran his hands up and down her arms. "And she needs to realize she deserves better."

"What, being called a whore and a..."

"Don't say it," he interrupted her with a finger across her lips.

"Well, being called those things isn't every girls dream?" She said sarcastically as she looked out over the lake. "She's taken with him, for some strange reason."

"I guess you don't choose who you fall in love with," Severus said quietly.

She thought about what he said for a moment.

"I'm glad it was you," she said softly as she looked up at him, his eyes were on the stars in the sky above them.

He looked down at her and smiled, "And I, you."

He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips before he guided her back into the Great Hall, and to Gryffindor tower. He would accept his punishment when he got back to his room.


	11. Chapter 11

Hermione Granger made her way down a lonely hall away from the Yule Ball. She walked until she could no longer hear the music and suddenly felt relief wash over her. The night had not gone well at all.

She had gone alone to the Yule Ball and had felt like the third wheel all night. Harry and Ginny had tried to include her, but she felt as if she was ruining their night by spending too much time with them. Ron and Lavender had barely made an appearance before going off to who knows where to shag. And all the other students tended to either ignore her or worry she was going to turn them in for a rule infraction. Truthfully, she'd spent most of the night wandering around aimlessly or sitting at a table by herself drinking her lemon water. Compared to last night, this Yule Ball had been a bust.

She tried to analyze what was different about her and the situation to make it more fun. She was still the same person, but for some reason, the people in 1977 seemed to 'get' her. Tonight she had tried to dance with a group of girls but felt as if they were making fun of her the entire time. The only people, besides Harry Ron and Ginny, who seemed to genuinely enjoy her company were Neville and Luna, but following that quibbler-laden conversation had been too much to bear. Even her hair and robes didn't seem to fit as well or look as nice in this time as the other.

And so, Hermione Granger found herself walking out into a remote rose garden, hoping the time would slip past quickly so she could return to the Great Hall and help with the removal of decorations, as promised. She cast a warming charm over herself and sat on a bench pulling a book from her robes and enlarging it to make it readable. She passed almost an hour in quiet solitude reading about a Chinese Arithmancer who had developed a new method of calculating moving energy.

"Even you, Miss Granger," a familiar voice called from behind her. "Should not be studying at the Yule Ball."

"Hello Professor," she said as she continued to read and not look back at him.

"Miss Granger, students are not permitted in this area of the castle during the ball," he said as she heard him walking towards her.

"Fine," she said sullenly as she stood. "I'll go read in the Great Hall."

"What's the matter with you?" He asked as he stopped before her.

"Nothings the matter with me, sir," she said distractedly as she went to walk past him.

He reached out and grabbed her arm, preventing her from further travel. She turned and looked at him and he noticed the utter sadness in her eyes.

"Hermione?" He asked.

"I'm just feeling sorry for myself," she said as she clutched her book to her chest. "I'll be fine in the morning."

"You mean in 1977," he said as he studied her face.

Her eyes met his and she looked away.

"Hermione, you can't..." he started as he dropped his hand from her arm.

"I can't get too attached? Is that what you're going to say?" She asked him.

"I just think that you need to understand that this is your life," Severus said thoughtfully.

"Don't remind me," she said as she kicked a pile of snow near her foot.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked, surprised.

"I mean," she said as she looked past him and over a dark field, tears filling her eyes. "That right now, 1977 is looking more appealing."

"Because of one night?" He asked, incredulous.

"No," she said sadly. "Because in 1977, I have loads of friends, and people like me. I had fun at the Yule Ball! I laughed and talked to everyone and it wasn't just that one night. It's always like that there."

"And here?" he asked, interested.

She thought for several minutes before answering him. She was looking off in the distance, and he at her.

"Here I'm the Head Girl who goes to the Ball alone. I'm the best friend who you feel sorry for, and try to include even though you'd rather be alone with your girlfriend. I'm the girl who doesn't fit in and doesn't dance and doesn't..."

Severus suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him, placing his hand at her waist and using his other hand to remove the book she was clutching to her chest. He threw the book on the snow covered ground and looked back at her.

"What are you doing?" She asked, surprised as she wiped at a stray tear and grabbed onto his shoulders.

"Dancing with you," he said as he started to move slightly and she followed.

"People might see us," she said as she looked over his shoulder and back into the deserted hallway.

"I shooed them all away a half hour ago," he said as he moved her around the clearing.

"A half hour ago?" She asked surprised. "Were you here all that time?"

He ignored her question and continued to dance, smoothly.

"Where'd you learn to dance like this Severus?" She asked as he turned her in his arms gracefully. "You didn't used to..."

"Death Eater balls," he said with nonchalance.

"Ah," she said as realization dawned on her. "At least they were civilized about dancing."

He laughed a heartfelt and deep chuckle at her joke. "The height of civilization when they weren't cursing and torturing muggles or muggleborns."

She snickered at his comment as they continued to dance.

"Hermione, just because these...fools can't appreciate you, doesn't mean that life in this time is any worse than life back then," he said as he felt her pull slightly closer to him. "You can't compare the two, that way."

"Why not?" She asked as she felt a shiver run up her back.

"You are a different person then because you are reacting and interacting to different people and circumstances," he explained as he continued to manoeuvre them around the garden. "You aren't the same in both times. Once you accept that, you can appreciate each time for what it is."

"And what are they?" She asked.

"Well," he said thoughtfully. "This time is reality, and 1977 is a glimpse. Maybe you can take some of the qualities you most like about yourself and your life then and incorporate them into this time."

She placed her cheek against his chest and felt him stiffen in the embrace.

"No, I can't," she said softly.

He knew that she was talking about him and stopped dancing pulling away from her slightly.

"Why'd you come here Severus?" She asked as she looked up at his unreadable face. "My 1997 reality, generally, doesn't include dancing with my professor in a moonlit garden."

"I...I apologize," he said stiffly as he stepped back from her. "I shouldn't have..."

"This is where we first said it," she said as she wrapped her arms around herself. In 1977 they had both said they loved the other in this very garden.

She watched as he turned to walk out of the garden; stopping at the door to the empty hallway; his back still facing her.

"Severus," she said as she walked up behind him and touched his back timidly, before laying her cheek softly against his shoulder blade.

She felt him lean back slightly, into her cheek.

"Thank you for the dance," she said in a whisper before she felt him pull away. She watched him walk alone down the empty hallway as silent tears streamed down her face.


	12. Chapter 12

"Please write often," Severus said as he held her close to his body while other students bustled around them to get on the train.

"I will," she smiled at him.

"I know it's only three weeks and..." he started.

She drew in a quick breath. In all likelihood it would be the last time they were together in 1977 and only she knew that. Professor Snape wanted to try some antidotes over the holidays and she didn't doubt that the potions master would probably figure out a solution to her problem.

"What?" He asked, noticing her pale countenance and the gasp.

"I love you Severus," she said as she took his face in her hands. "Remember that no...no matter what."

"What?" He looked at her confused. "Why no matter what?"

"Well, just with us being gone from each other and the engagement with Proudfoote and..." she stammered to cover.

"I am no marrying that woman," he said firmly. "So get that out of your head, Hermione."

"I just don't want you to do anything foolish, okay?" She asked, trying to get her point across. "I love you and I'd never want you to...to..."

"Please stop this talk, you are worrying me," he said softly as he touched her cheek. "I will take care of Lena and you enjoy the time with your parents. I'll write you often and I expect to hear back just as much."

"Okay," she said, knowing there was no more she could tell him without revealing the future.

He kissed her softly and she revelled in the feel of his tender lips against hers as his arms pulled her closer to his body.

The whistle to the train blew and last call was hollered through the station.

He pulled away from her and ran towards the nearest door turning to wave from inside the train.

"Three weeks!" He smiled at her and yelled out the window.

"I love you Severus!" She yelled back, ignoring the audience that was looking at her gap-mouthed from the train.

He smiled back at her warmly and winked. He was never one for yelling his feelings in public.

"Always," she said loud enough for him to hear.

A look of confusion passed over his features before the train lurched forward. Hermione smiled and waved at him as the tears started to form in her eyes. He stared at her intently from his window, watching her until the last moment when the train pulled away. A look of worry spread across his face. When the train pulled away and she could no longer see him she burst into tears and covered her face. Professor McGonagall placed a gentle arm around her shoulder and sighed.

"Ah, young love," she said wistfully before she lead Hermione away from the platform and back to Hogwarts.

When she arrived there she was immediately called to Dumbledore's office with her things which had been shrunk in her pocket.

"Are you ready to go Miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked kindly.

"Yes, Professor," she nodded as the man stretched out his arm for her to take. She felt a tug in her stomach and the incredible swirling motion of apparition before she landed in the snow outside a small cottage.

"Welcome to Ireland Miss Granger," Dumbledore said with a grand gesture of his arms.

The tiny cottage before them was quaint and rustic. It had a tin roof covered in snow with small flower boxes with dead flowers in all of the windows. There was a small gated garden around it and, when Hermione turned to look at her surroundings, there was a small village nearby and rolling snow covered hills surrounding it.

"It's beautiful," Hermione said thoughtfully.

"It is," Dumbledore said softly, as if remembering his time spent there fondly. "Come, let's go inside."

Hermione walked with the Headmaster through the small gate, down the cobblestone path and to the front door of the cottage.

"The password is Pickled Peppers," Dumbledore informed her as the door opened for them. "You should find the cupboards well stocked, and I've set up an account for you at the local General Store in the village in case you need anything I haven't thought of."

"Thank you, sir," she said as she took in the quaint living room with its large fireplace, cushy sofa, large wing back chair, mahogany desk and bookcases filled with both wizarding and muggle tombs.

"Through there is the bedroom, and beyond it the bath," he said as he gestured to a small doorway. "Around the corner is the kitchen and there is a cold cellar downstairs that is now free of a rather nasty Boggart so you are free to go down there as well."

"Thank you sir, I really appreciate all the troub..."

"No worries Miss Granger, it's the least I can do," he said as he looked at her carefully. "I must apologize for the tracking charm I placed on you it was an invasion of your privacy and for that I am truly sorry."

"Thank you, sir," she nodded, not really sure she was ready to forgive.

"I hope everything goes well in your timeline and that, as much as we have loved having you, you'll find yourself permanently in 1997 again," he smiled down at her.

"Yes, sir," she nodded.

"I'll leave you then," he said as he stepped away from her. "I'll floo and check in on you from time to time but I'm sure you'll appreciate the time to yourself."

"Sir, what's the story going to be?" she asked anxious. "When I...when I disappear?"

"I think we'll go with the one where your dad took a turn for the worst and your family was seeking alternative medical treatment in Asia, where you were in a remote and non-wizarding community."

"Oh," she said softly.

"What's bothering you my dear?" He asked.

"Well, sir," she paused to think of a good way to ask this. "Could I possibly write letters to some of my friends that maybe you could pass along to them once I've gone?"

"Would these letters be revealing anything about the future Miss Granger?" He asked as he eyed her carefully.

"No, just my chance to say goodbye, properly," Hermione said quietly.

He paused for a moment and thought about her request. "I can arrange that for you."

"Oh, thank you sir," her face brightened at the gesture.

"Have a nice vacation Miss Granger," he said as he walked toward the door. "I look forward to meeting you again in 1997."

With those parting words Dumbledore was gone and Hermione was alone again.


	13. Chapter 13

Days had passed with some success but on Christmas Eve Hermione found herself at Hogwarts in 1997 arguing with the Potions Professor.

"I don't care about the bloody holiday!" He snapped at her. "We only have a few weeks to get this right and every night counts."

"I'd just like a one night reprieve," she said with a tinge of whine to her voice. "The potions are making me quite ill in the morning and I'd like to not be sick on Christmas."

"I thought Madam Pomfey had been..."

"She has been giving me something to help, but I still feel queasy throughout the day," Hermione explained.

"You didn't report that in the log book," he said as he held the book up in his hand.

"I didn't think it was worth reporting. A little queasiness is just..." Hermione began.

"Hermione, you need to report everything," he emphasized. "Otherwise how can I make the proper adjustments!"?

"Severus the goal is to get me in one time not..." she yelled back.

"You also can't go through the rest of your life feeling queasy either!" He snapped. "What other symptoms are you holding back?!"

"I'm sometimes a little dizzy!" She yelled back, feeling like a child and not caring what impression she made.

"Fucking dizzy too!" He yelled at her. "This is completely unacceptable! How am I..."

"Happy Christmas to you both!" A voice cut off Severus' tirade.

Both heads snapped from the cauldron they were arguing over to the man standing at the doorway to Severus' private potions lab. Dumbledore had an amused look on his face.

"I could hear you all through the dungeons," he said to the pair.

"I'm sorry Headmaster," Severus apologized.

"I am too," Hermione added.

"Maybe you both need a night off?" Dumbledore suggested.

"Headmaster, there are only two and a half weeks until the other students..." Severus began.

"And Miss Granger is right," he said to Severus. "It's Christmas and you both need a break."

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest in a self-satisfied way.

"But Severus is correct as well," Dumbledore added. "You should not be withholding any symptoms as even the slightest difference could mean something."

Severus crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her as well.

"You two," Dumbledore chuckled as he turned to leave. "Are quite the pair in 1977 and now."

Both Hermione and Severus shifted uncomfortably.

"I expect you both at the Christmas feast," he said as he started to walk away. "And no more working tonight."

Hours later the feast was done and Hermione found herself playing exploding snap with some staff and students in the Great Hall. It was a rousing game and everyone was having a lovely Christmas Eve.

"Alright everyone, it's almost midnight and, although curfew does not apply over the holiday, you should get to bed so St Nicholas can arrive," Madam Pomfey said with a smile on her face.

The 11 students in attendance let out a groan.

"Madam Pomfey's right everyone," Minerva McGonagall said rising. "Off to your Houses!"

The students begrudgingly stood and broke off into groups to return to their Common Rooms.

"Miss Felicity are you the only Slytherin?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Yes, Simon and Terrance went back earlier," the young girl answered.

"I'll walk her back," Hermione offered.

"Thank you Miss Granger," the professor smiled at her.

Hermione proceeded to walk the small girl back to her Common Room chatting with her along the way. She was a nice child whose parents had perished in the war and was away from her grandmother for her first Christmas. She had explained to Hermione that her grandmother was in the hospital and Hermione felt instantly sorry for her. Taking it upon herself to tuck in the child and tell her a story, it was quite late before Hermione rose and exited the Slytherin lair.

Walking down the hall she was growing more and more tired with each step. Time travel and the potions experiments had been taking their toll on her more than she realized and the long day and late hour were affecting her more than she expected. When she started down a small set of stairs leading from the Slytherin Common Room her foot caught on a stone and she found herself tumbling forward. The motion caused her to suddenly feel dizzy and Hermione found herself falling and fainting at the same time, collapsing on the ground in a heap.

When she awoke some time later she found herself not on the ground, but lying on a couch next to a fire with a very surly Potions Master frowning down at her.

"Not such a big deal, the dizziness?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm fine," she said as she started to sit up and suddenly felt very ill. She collapsed back into the pillow behind her.

"Obviously," he said as he crouched in front of her and handed her a steaming cup of tea. "Collapsed at the bottom of a set of stairs is how I find most people who are feeling...fine."

"Please don't," she said as she closed her eyes and took the tea from his hands.

"Fine," he agreed before he felt her forehead and then stood and faced the fire. "Maybe I need to consult outside sources."

"Why?" She asked, surprised.

"This is obviously affecting you greatly and I don't want to hurt you," he said honestly.

"Really Severus, I'm just tired and I mis-stepped and then got dizzy and...and it's stupid, really," she explained, sounding desperate.

"Maybe you need a few days of rest before we continue," he said softly. "We can induce a coma to stop the time travel and you can re-build your stores before we try again."

There was a silence for a minute while she looked at his back. He looked tired as well. Her time travel was greatly affecting him as well and that, combined with looking for the cure, was wearing on him as well.

"I'll do it on one condition," she said softly.

He turned to look at her, the light from the fire, dancing across his features.

"You'll take a break for as long as I'm out," Hermione offered. "No experimentation, no marking, no work of any kind. Just reading for pleasure and sleeping for you. I need an alert Potions Master, not one who's about to keel over from exhaustion as well."

"Hermione I don't..." he began.

"Then I won't do it," she said placing her mug down on his coffee table. There was determination in her voice.

He looked at her and he knew her too well to know that she was not faking.

"Fine," he said, resigned.

"Shake?" She said extending her hand. "This is a promise you are making to me Severus, no sneaking around it."

He grasped her hand and shook. "You will allow yourself to be placed in a coma for 2 days and I will refrain from potion-making, marking, or any type of research or experimentation for that same period of time."

"And you will get your rest," she added, still grasping his hand.

"And I'll get my rest," he agreed, resigned.

"Thank you," she smiled up at him as their hands parted.

"Bloody blackmail is what it is," Severus said softly.

"Happy Christmas Severus," she said quietly as she watched the flames dance in the fire.

He sat on a chair next to her and looked at the flames as well. "Happy Christmas Hermione."


	14. Chapter 14

Hermione woke well rested and stretched out in her bed. It was 1977 and she was in a small cottage in Ireland. She called up her magical calendar with her wand and realized that, indeed, 2 days had passed. Somehow, at the end of her sleep she'd woken in this time and not the other.

She lit the fire with her wand and snuggled under the covers with plans of staying there until the place warmed, when she heard a tapping on her bedroom window. Hermione rose from her warm bed and tip toed across the cold floor to open the window and let in a huge grey owl.

The owl seemed unimpressed with her and stuck its foot out hooting at her to remove the letter and a small pouch. Once done, it promptly took off to warm by the fire and eat from the dish of stale owl treats that had probably been in the house for decades. The owl didn't seem to care.

"Hey, leave some in the dish!" Hermione called to the owl.

He ignored her and continued to eat.

Hermione opened the letter and saw Severus' familiar scratch; she placed the pouch on the bed beside her. The letter was dated two days ago.

"Were you ordered to wait for a response?" Hermione asked the owl and received a 'hoot' in response.

"No wonder you're cold and hungry, you've been waiting on me two days," she said as she promptly walked to the kitchen and grabbed a sleeve of crackers opening it for the bird and laying it in front of his. "Sorry."

The owl dug in to the food while Hermione's attention turned to the letter.

_Hermione,_

_Happy Christmas! This should be arriving on Christmas morning and I hope it finds you in good spirits. Mother has purchased me a new broom for my present. We went shopping for it the other day and I think I've been flying more than I've been walking lately. It's a great present and I can't wait to show it to you when we're back at school. I also can't wait to use it in a match; it's fast and has a quick response time; far superior to my old broom._

_How's your father? Has he regained his health? Is your mother making you work like a troll or are you actually getting any time to yourself this holiday? What did you get from your parents for Christmas this year?_

_I miss you. I've said it plain and simple, aren't you impressed?_

_I am going to a friend's chalet skiing after the New Year and I so wish you were coming with me. His name is Lucius Malfoy and he was a good friend to me when I started at Hogwarts-I know you'd like him. He's years ahead and stinking rich and he likes to show off, but underneath he's truly a good guy. He's invited a bunch of us to France; I think there may be twenty or more people going!_

_Mother said I could go and she agreed to talk about my engagement to Lena when I returned. She thought I liked her and therefore agreed to the match. Apparently Lena has led her family to believe that we've been involved since the summer. Mother said she'll talk to Lena's mom and try to straighten everything out. See? I told you all would be well._

_If you haven't already, please open the pouch I sent with Kafka (my family's owl). It's just something small, but I wanted you to have it for Christmas. It's used to be my grandmothers._

Hermione reached over and opened the pouch. She found a small heart-shaped pendant on a chain. It was silver and had some intricate etching around it. It was simple and very unimposing, but heart-felt. Hermione held it in her hand and looked back at the letter.

_My grandfather gave it to her when they were dating. It was a birthday present in that case, but I thought you would enjoy it for Christmas. I also hope that you will wear it as long as my grandmother did. She and my grandfather were married for over a hundred years. I hope to have you for at least that many._

Hermione started to cry. She wouldn't have a hundred years with Severus; she wouldn't even have another day with him. She needed to end this before his heart was broken further. She needed him to find another girl to love, another girl who wouldn't be a Death Eater and lead him down that path.

_I can't wait to see it on you when we get back to school. Write soon and tell me everything you are doing, okay? This vacation can't end quickly enough. Kafka has been ordered to wait for a response. I'll write you again before I go away and then from France. I truly do miss you._

_Love,_

_Severus_

Hermione looked at the owl happily eating crackers in front of the fire and broke down into sobs. She had known this day would come for weeks and yet she had ploughed through with this relationship. She had not heeded the Professor's warnings to stay away from him and now she was going to hurt him horribly. He was right. She had been wrong. She had allowed her feelings for him cloud her choices. she hadn't done what was right, but rather what was selfish. And now, a 17 year old boy was going to pay for her reckless behaviour. Know wonder Severus was so angry with her in 1997.

She picked up a quill and wrote quickly.

_Severus,_

_My father is quite ill and I'm sorry I don't have time to write much. We're back and forth to hospital doing tests to see what is wrong, so far no answers. I love and miss you very much. I also don't know if I'll be back at Hogwarts after the break, I may need to stay with my family._

_As beautiful as the necklace is, I couldn't possibly take a family heirloom, so I'm retuning it. It was a lovely gesture but...it's just not right. I hope you understand._

_Have fun in France, but please don't make any promises about your future. Things that may look like good opportunities now may not be a few years from now. Take your time to decide what you really want to do with your life. Don't forget about your university acceptance!_

_I will let you know if things change, but right now I need to focus on my father's care. Enjoy your time with your mum._

_Love,_

_Hermione_

Hermione cried as she re-packaged the necklace and tied the letter to Kafka's leg. She cried when she saw the owl swoop off into the sky and she cried when she turned around to look at the empty room. A symbol of her empty life. She felt completely alone. She had probably just broken the heart of the only man she's ever loved. It would never be the same again. How could she go on to meet another boy and fall in love, when she'd already had something perfect and genuine with him. And how could she deal with him in her present? A man who has 20 years her senior, many years more experienced and jaded, and her teacher on top of it all? Hermione decided, as she crawled back into bed, sad, lonely and depressed, that she was just doomed to misery and unhappiness.


	15. Chapter 15

"I wanted to talk with you about a variation I have come up with," Severus began.

He was standing in front of the door to her Head Girl room, a place she had only seem him near twice before.

"Come in," Hermione gestured with a sweep of her hand. She had been expecting Madam Pomfey and was wearing her usual pj pants and tank top; ready for sleep.

He walked inside and immediately looked uncomfortable when she shut the door.

"You weren't working on this while I was...?" She started.

"No, the change in the combination was something I have just been working on today," he explained.

"Well, you do look better Severus," Hermione commented as she sat on the edge of her bed. "So you are taking care of me tonight instead of Madam Pomfey?"

"Yes, she's taking a few days off to visit family," he said as he shifted his feet.

"Well, the new potions have not created the reaction of the first one, so you won't need to give me a bath tonight I suspect," she smirked at him, hoping to make light of the situation.

"I have read the log notes, Hermione," he said as he sat in the wingback chair across from her bed.

There was a long pause.

"So, what's different about this one?" She asked as she pulled her feet up on the bed and crossed them.

"This one should counteract the queasiness and the dizziness," he explained. "I have added some nymph thistle and troll bile which will counteract those symptoms."

"Troll bile?" She winced. "You romantic."

Severus Snape shifted in his chair. "There is nothing, nor should there be, anything romantic about the success of this potion Miss Granger."

"Severus, I was only kid..." She started.

"Just take the bloody potion, Hermione," he said as he reached in his robes and pulled out a vial.

She took the proffered vial and looked hard at him. "I know this whole situation has been uncomfortable for us, for you...but there's no reason for a mere joke to cause you to..."

"Please, just drink it," he said quietly.

"What happened to you?" She asked, before she could collect the words back in her mouth.

He stood up from his chair, incensed, and began to pace.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." she started.

"Shall I start the list?!" He snapped.

"Severus, I know that..." she started as she put down the vial and stood to walk near him.

"Do you know what the last 20 years have been like for me?!" He yelled. "Death Eaters, spying, two lords, bratty children, loneliness, and loss...that about sums it up. So excuse me if I cannot make light of the fact that the girl I've fallen in love with as a teenager is about to..."

"I'm sorry," she said as she grabbed onto the edges of his jacket. "I'm so sorry."

The tears started to roll down her cheeks and he turned his head away, unable to look at her.

"You were right! Is that what you want to hear? If I had not gotten involved with you in the first place, none of this would be happening! My heart wouldn't be breaking, and I wouldn't be hurting someone I love. You would be none the wiser and I wouldn't feel like the shittiest human being alive right now," she sobbed.

He turned to look at her, his face unreadable.

"I was selfish and I see that now, only it's too late," she said as she gripped his coat tighter. "It's too bloody late to change what I did to you...what I did to us, and I'm so sorry Severus, I'm really sorry!"

His arms reached out and grasped her elbows, pulling her away from him slightly and loosening her grip on his jacket.

"I know you are," he said softly. "But it still doesn't change anything."

She let go of his jacket and wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand.

"Please, drink the potion Hermione," he said as he stepped back from her.

Hermione walked over to the bed, lifted the vial to her lips, drank the potion down and, without turning to look at him, climbed in bed and turned out the lights. She was asleep within minutes and he was an emotional wreck as he sat heavily on his chair and willed himself to not break down.


	16. Chapter 16

Hermione spent the next day in 1997, Severus' potion had worked. When she arrived back in 1977 she finally had some time free from him to feel sorry for herself in the little cottage in Ireland. Her heart was broken, there was nothing she could do about hurting the man she loved, and she was still stuck, at least partially, in this time loop. She was sure, actually that Severus was going to cure her in the next few days and she'd never see 1977 again. In short, Hermione Granger was depressed. She woke to a pecking on her window, and half didn't want to open it as she knew the owl would be from a broken-hearted Severus.

She let Kafka in and he shook the new fallen snow off his feathers and went immediately to the nearby fire.

"I'm sorry Kafka," she said softly. "You've been waiting a while?"

The owl ignored her and stuck out his foot for her to receive the letter. Hermione sighed and took it from him. The necklace was also in the package. The man doesn't give up.

_Hermione,_

_I am so sorry to hear about your father. Is there anything I can do? I could come to you instead of Malfoy's chalet. Please let me know._  
_If you can't come back to Hogwarts, we'll figure something out. Although I will miss you, I have no doubt you will be back in no time. What are you doing about your courses if you don't come back? Have you spoken with the Headmaster about your situation? I'd be happy to help you out via owl if you need further explanation of assignments._

Hermione smiled. No matter what, he was a good student and her friend. Of course he would go out of his way to help her in any way he could. He would spend all his free time instructing her. Severus was a teacher already and he didn't even know it.

_I have returned the necklace, as you can see, because it belongs to you now. I want you to have it. I have told my mother all about you and she can't wait to meet you. I know with everything going on with your father, meeting my mother is not a priority but I hope it will happen before graduation._

Hermione started to cry. There would be no graduation shared with Severus this time around. He would be there alone, wondering where everything went wrong, thinking she was in some tropical place out of contact. Would he be able to move on? Judging from his early devotion to Lily Evans, probably not. Perhaps, in this new timeline, Hermione was the reason he joined the Death Eaters. She cringed at the thought that she may be responsible for all the loss and hurt she would cause him.

_Your letter bothered me Hermione. I felt as if you were saying goodbye. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I can't seem to shake the feeling that something is incredibly wrong. Have I done something to upset you? Has something else happened? Is there someone else? I want you to be honest with me. Kafka has been instructed to wait for your response._

_Love,_  
_Severus_

The tears came more heavily now. He was worried she'd found someone else? She couldn't possibly love anyone as much as him. There may never be someone else for her. This thought both comforted and upset her. This timeline had changed her life irrevocably. The man she loved in 1977 was now 20 years her senior and, although he'd agreed to be her friend, he seemed to have no notion to be anything but that.

Hermione snatched a quill and parchment and quickly wrote a letter that she knew would be hurtful but had to be sent. She would be as honest as possible.

_Severus,_

_We can't continue like this. I love you and there isn't anyone else, but things are too complicated right now. I don't know if there will ever be a time for us, but right now it isn't. I hope you find someone special for you and have a happy life. Remember that your education and your family are the most important things in life. Power and glory are fleeting and anyone who promises this to you is lying. I hope that one day in the future you will be my friend again. I'm so sorry._

_Hermione_

She sealed the letter, attached it quickly to Kafka and sent him off before she changed her mind. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she watched Kafka disappear into the sky. She crawled into her bed and lay their crying the rest of the day. It wasn't until much later, that she discovered the necklace she had forgotten to return. Hermione handled the delicate silver and thought about how much love really did hurt. She put it around her neck and vowed to give it to Professor Snape tomorrow.


	17. Chapter 17

"Severus, I wish to return this necklace," she said as she gently placed it on the desk before him. It became a small silver pile of hopes dashed between them.

He looked at the necklace and then picked up the chain and delicately rubbed it between his thumb and fore-finger, lost in thought for a moment. He then dropped the chain and went back to his quill and parchment without looking up at her.

"You may keep it," he said quietly.

"But, Severus, I should have returned it, I was just so...well, I forgot to, and now I need to," she said surprised by his words.

"It was a gift," he merely offered.

"A gift that was not mine to have," she said assuredly. "It's your grandmothers and I have no right to keep it."

He paused in what he was writing and sighed, still not looking at her. "Please, just keep it."

"No," Hermione said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "It's not right."

"I wanted you to have it," he said, his tone odd to her ears. "That fact still has not changed."

He rose from his seat and walked toward his private stores. "Tonight I hope the potion will keep you here for 3 days, if that is the case, it is stable enough to break the time loop. You'll have one more day in 1977 after that and then it'll be done."

Hermione swallowed hard and willed the tears forming in her eyes to not drop. "Okay." She said softly.

He still had not turned his back to look at her. "I suggest you use your last time there to get your affairs in order in 1977."

"I will," she said softly.

He walked from the room and she stood still before his desk, looking at the pile of silver she had tried to return. She picked it up and looked at the delicate heart. It was not hers to keep. She had broken his heart in 1977; she deserved no such gift from him. She left it on his desk and walked from the room.


	18. Chapter 18

Hermione had spent the last 3 days in 1997. The potion was stable. She woke in 1977 for the very last time. She had spent the last 3 days composing letters to her friends and Severus, explaining about her father's illness and her abrupt departure from their lives. She hoped she had explained things well enough. She would owl them off to Dumbledore and he would deliver the letters when everyone returned to school. It was the best she could do.

In 1997 she had seen very little of Severus. He had remained in his rooms, unavailable when she knocked. Dutifully he had shown up in her Head Girl room each night before bed, and each night he had kept her from engaging in any sort of conversation about their situation. He was remote and cold whenever they spoke and Hermione suspected he was incredibly angry with her but was trying to control himself.

Now, as she padded around the old, cold cottage she wished for more time. When this first happened, she couldn't wait to get back to 1997. Now, as she was about to do just that, she ached to stay in both times. Her life as a teen was infinitely better in 1977 than in 1997. She loved her friends and family, but she was just more comfortable in 1977 for some odd reason. He lit the fire and padded toward the kitchen in search of oatmeal. Throwing a wool sweater over her pyjamas she put water in a pot to boil.

Then she heard the tapping at the window. She went over and was greeted by a sickly looking Kafka.

"What's the matter Kafka?" Hermione asked alarmed as the bloated bird hobbled into the room. "Are you cold from being outside so long?"

The owl promptly vomited a green goo on the floor and then started to hop around, in much better spirits.

"Ewww, Kafka, what'd you eat?" Hermione asked as she waved her wand and got rid of the vomit.

The owl then started to peck at her pant leg and she reached down to get, what she was sure would be an angry and hurt letter from Severus. She had already decided that, whatever it said, she would not answer it. He would get her letter when he was back at Hogwarts.

She gave Kafka a treat and unrolled the parchment. It was blank. Just then a 'pop' cracked in the corner of the room. Hermione turned to see Severus standing in the corner of the room, a hurt look on his face.


	19. Chapter 19

"What the hell are you doing in Ireland?" he asked, nervous and angry all at the same time.

"I, uh...how'd you get here?" She asked, stalling.

"Apparition charm placed on the letter, it took me to your location once opened," he explained, still looking at her and not moving. "Now, Hermione, why are you in Ireland?"

"I, uh,..." she stammered. "I need to contact Dumbledore and..."

She moved toward the fireplace and he walked in front of her blocking her. Looking at her with a strange mixture of emotions on his face.

"I need to know," he said slowly. If she didn't know him any better, she might have been scared.

"Severus," she said pushing at his immovable frame. "You need to move!"

"Not until you answer my questions," he said grabbing hold of her shoulders. "Kafka came home ill last time; he's allergic to Grouse Thistle which only grows in Ireland. So, I deduced that you were not where you had said in your letter. Your father's not even sick, is he?"

"No," she admitted. "But you have to let me get Dumbledore, he'll know what to do and..."

"I don't give a fuck about Dumbledore!" He said as he shook her shoulders slightly. "I want to know from you, without the lies and the subterfuge. What the fuck is going on?!"

"Severus, I can't say!" She cried. "I can't...I just can't!"

Her knees buckled and she collapsed onto the floor.

"Hermione, I don't understand...are you in danger?" He asked, dropping to the ground before her.

"No, there's no danger just...just things I can't say...things I can't share and..." she looked at him pleadingly. "Severus you've got to believe me, I would tell you if I could!"

"What can you tell me?" He asked, exasperated.

"I am Hermione Granger. I love you very much. And I'm going to leave tonight and you're not going to see me again for a very very long time."

"What?!" He asked, running his hands through his hair. "This...this doesn't make sense...why do you have to go away tonight? But you're not in any danger?"

"I'm not," she said honestly as tears started to fall down her cheeks. "I can't explain...I wish I could...I really wish I could."

"How do you know we'll see each other again?" He asked, thinking.

She refused to answer him and instead turned away from him and stood up. "I'd like to contact Dumbledore and..."

"No!" He said standing as well and grabbing her hand. "This is our last day together for a long time?"

"Yes," she said truthfully.

"Then I don't want to spend it with bloody Dumbledore," he said softly. "If you can't tell me then...then I'll accept that and..."

"Severus, you'll never accept that!" She snapped at him. "You're already trying to figure it out! I can see that look on your face."

"I know you're from the future," he said looking at her face for confirmation.

She tried to keep her features neutral but her eyes dilated and he knew.

"We know each other in the future? A long time in the future?" He asked.

"See?!" she yelled as she tried to pull free of him. "You'll not leave it alone! You won't!"

"I...I will, I promise," he said pleadingly. "No more questions."

"Truly?" She asked.

"Not one about the future beyond today," he promised. "Just don't call Dumbledore, okay?"

She looked at him and sized up his request.

"The second you start I'm going to..."

"I know," he said softly. "Now, please, is what you said correct?"

"What?" She asked suspicious.

"Do you love me very much?" He asked with a smirk.

She launched herself into his arms and kissed the side of his face. His lips then met hers and they kissed passionately. His arms clutching at her for dear life. If what she said was right and she was gone tonight, he was going to make the most of his last day with her.

"I was going to make...wait, aren't you supposed to be skiing?"

"You were more important," he said softly as he nuzzled her wild hair.

"Does your mother...?"

"No one does, I didn't know where I was going so I just left for my trip as planned and waited for the apparition to kick in. I told Malfoy my plans had changed."

"So you're with me until the end?" She asked as her eyes welled up.

"Until the end," he said as he willed his eyes not to.

"How do you want to spend our day?" She asked as she pulled back slightly. "I was going to make some oatmeal and..."

"I can think of better things than oatmeal," he said as he kissed her neck.

"I don't know if that is such a good idea," she said through pants. "You're future self may not..."

She stopped herself from talking before she said too much.

"Then he's a prat," Severus said as he continued to kiss her. "If I'm not all over you in the future then I'm a complete idiot."

She laughed at his joke. If only he knew what his future self was like. She desperately wanted to tell him, to warn him about the Death Eaters but she knew she could not. Perhaps she could get her message across indirectly throughout the day?

"We need to eat before we decide on anything else, I'm famished," she said as she pulled away, reluctantly, from him.

Two hours later they were on the couch making out and the oatmeal, although partially eaten, was now stone cold.

"I know we can't talk about the future," he started. "But I want you to know that as much as it...hurts that you are leaving me. I guess...I guess what I want to say is that I'm glad I at least got you for as long as I did."

She smiled at him. "I'm glad too."

A hush fell over them as the mid-day light streamed into the room.

"If I could stay...I actually would," she said softly as he wrapped an arm around her.

"You would? Why?" He asked, interested.

"One reason, the biggest reason, is you," she said, turning a shade of pink.

"So, we aren't...I know I can't ask," he said shaking his head.

"And I can't tell," she said softly.

"I must be blind or stupid or in a coma in the future if I pass up an opportunity to have you in my life," he said as he pulled her a little closer.

She smiled at his comment but said nothing. Part of her liked the way her Severus viewed his future self. Maybe his future self could learn something from these observations.

"Come on," she said as she stood and grasped his hand.

"What? Where are we...?"

"I am going to make love to you Severus Snape," Hermione said as he stood up facing her. "Because I love you, and you love me and...and now is the right time for this."

"Does the...the act somehow play into our future?" He asked as she pulled him to the bedroom.

"I have no idea," she said honestly. "And right now, I like not knowing something."

She walked him to her bed and slowly started to undo the buttons of his shirt.

"Uh, Hermione, I've...what I mean to say is that...well, I've never done this before," he said as red rose up in his cheeks.

"Neither have I," she admitted shyly.

"Oh," he said softly as he placed his hands on the tops of her shoulders. "We don't have to...I mean, I don't want you thinking that you need to..."

"I know," she said as she pulled his shirt tails from his pants. "I want to. Do you?"

He smiled down at her and leaned down to kiss her softly on the lips.

"We're in agreement then," she smiled at him.

He pulled her wool sweater over her head and pushed her tank top straps off her shoulders.

"You're so soft," he said between kissed.

"Severus, you hands have been all over me," she chuckled.

"You're softer," he grinned against her lips.

She touched the fine hairs starting to develop on his chest. He felt so good.

She heard him unbuckle his pants and them fall to the floor as he pushed her pyjama pants onto the floor. They stood before each other in their underwear, neither conscious of their nudity or the cold.

His hands went to her breasts, pushing the tank top toward her waist and she grasped at his firm buttocks.

"God, you feel so good," she said softly as she felt him easing her back onto the bed. Some minor shuffling and she was positioned below him with his hair falling around her face like a curtain blocking out the rest of the world.

"Are you sure?" He asked he as he fingered the edge of her underwear.

She nodded her head 'yes'. "Are you?" She asked. "Knowing I'm going? That the timeline is not going to change Severus."

He paused in thought for a moment. "I'm sure. I love you Hermione, and I want to be with you, even if tomorrow I...I can't."

She raised herself up and kissed him soundly as she felt her panties being moved down her legs. He then pulled down his own underwear and her bunched up tank top. They now lay skin to skin, not a shred of clothing between them. She loved the feel of his weight on top of her.

He clasped his cock and slowly guided it towards her. It was awkward at first, getting it in the right spot, at the right angle...but eventually he was sheathed inside her and she had a sharp intake of breath.

"Are you...are you okay?" He asked worried.

She nodded her head and he pulled out slightly before pushing back inside. The sensation was amazing. He had never felt that excited before in his life. She opened her legs a little more and bent her knees. She pushed up against him after a few thrusts causing a tingling sensation to run through her lower body. After a few minutes of thrusting he halted all motion.

"Stop, stop," he said out of breath. "Uh, I..."

She then felt him come inside her as his face contorted above her.

"I'm sorry...I...I'm so sorry," he said softly, embarrassed.

"It's fine, Severus," she said as she patted his back. "I intend to have you again, and I'm sure it'll last longer."

He pulled out of her and rolled onto his side next to her. "How humiliating."

She looked at him shocked. "Severus it was our first time...I think that with time..."

She stopped herself from speaking when he looked at her sharply. They didn't have time. This was it for them for many years.

"I'm sorry," she said touching his chest. "Why don't we have a nap and see where the rest of the day takes us?"

Severus reluctantly agreed. she saw that his ego was very bruised and she tried to comfort him. They eventually fell asleep and when she woke again he was lightly fingering the edge of her vagina.

"Ohhh," she said softly as she came to her senses. "What are you up to?"

"I'm trying to share the pleasure and not be so bloody selfish," he said softly. "I'm sorry your first time...our first time was so...expedient."

She smiled at him as his finger ventured inside her a little.

If felt nice. He pumped one, then two, then three fingers inside her until she was smashing herself against this cupped hand. "Oh, gods!"

He took that as his opportunity and guided himself inside her. They moved in unison, enjoying the feel of the others body as they pleasured each other. This sexual encounter lasted longer and was much more gratifying for each party. Severus secretly hoped he could take back their first time and replace it with this one in her memory. Hermione cried out in orgasmic pleasure, tipping Severus over the edge as he came forcefully inside her. Satiated and tired again, Hermione cuddled up against Severus' frame.

They would make love one more time that night, Hermione cried afterwards knowing it would never happen again. She tried to talk with Severus about following his own path, but wasn't sure her message got through. In the end, she fell asleep in his arms, hoping the night would never end. He fell asleep clutching her tightly to him, hoping that would be enough to keep her. In the morning he woke up alone.


	20. Chapter 20

Hermione Granger stayed in bed in 1997 for 3 days. She saw no one in that time but a house elf named Wingy who brought her food and her potion. Severus was not there when she woke after making love to him in 1977. He had not been back to check on her or watch her while she slept the following nights either. Part of her cared very much if she had hurt him, and other part of her was so engrossed in her own sorrow she didn't give a crap.

On the fourth day there was a note attached to the potion that arrived in the evening, requesting her presence in his office. There was no personalization to the note except the signature. It just had an 'S' written on it, which could stand for either Severus or Snape depending on how you took it. Hermione starred at the note for a long time. If it meant Severus then he still wanted to be friends. If it meant Snape then he was pissed.

She was still pondering the 'S' when she knocked on the door to his office. Usually she was greeted with "come!" as if she was bothering him. Today she waited almost to the point of knocking again before the door opened. He was standing on the other side dressed in black trousers and a grey dress shirt with the cuffs rolled up. He nodded his head in acknowledgement and motioned for her to come inside.

It was upon entering that she saw the piles of books and boxes.

"Professor?" She asked, surprised.

"Have a seat please," he said almost apologetically.

She sat down heavily in a wooden chair as she took in the shelves that had been swept clean of books.

"Are you cleaning up?" She asked, worried.

"I'm taking a leave of absence," he said as he sat down behind his desk comfortable in his chair.

"Severus, why are you...?"

"There are some things I wish to do," he said as he steepled his fingers in front of his face.

"To do?" She asked, still mystified by the entire encounter.

"Your going back in time has given me a lot of food for thought," he said as he sat back. "I wanted many things out of life Hermione, and I haven't sought many of them. I would like to start to do that."

"What...what things?" She asked.

"Remember how I told you I've always wanted to hike the highlands?" He asked as he watched her nod in agreement. "I'm starting with that in the spring, after I visit some family in Turkey."

"But you're leaving here? Me?" She asked, bewildered.

"I'm leaving Hogwarts for a year, possibly more," he said as he watched her reaction. "I need some time."

"Away from me?" She asked, not really wanting his truthful answer.

"In part, yes," he said as he leaned forward. "Not because of anything you did. But you are eighteen Hermione, and regardless of timelines and past relationships, in the present I am twenty years older and your teacher. I find that my feelings for you are very much on the surface and I can't...we can't...there will be no acting on them."

"But..." Hermione started as she leaned forward trying to reach for him.

"You have university and many experiences ahead of you, and I don't want to hamper them in any..."

"You wouldn't!" She snapped.

"You love the seventeen year old version of me, not this me," he said softly, regretfully.

"I think I just love you," she said as she looked into his eyes. "I don't differentiate by time."

"You should," he said softly.

"Did you still join the Death Eaters? What I said didn't..."

"Hermoione," he said awkwardly. "I have a confession to make."

"What?" She asked, scared.

"When we...after...when you were completely relaxed," he stumbled over the words of describing a post-orgasmic Hermione.

"Yes?" She asked, her face flushing.

"I performed Legitimens on you," he said as he bowed his head. "Without your knowledge or permission."

"What?" She asked, her eyes widening.

"I am truly..."

"Why did you do that?" She asked.

"For purely selfish reasons, I'm afraid," he said with a sigh.

"What reasons?" She asked, upset.

"You had said that we knew each other, in the future," he started to explain. "So I looked at your memories to see how we got to know each other again. I...you see, I couldn't picture a future without you and..."

"And you wanted to guarantee that we'd meet up again?" she said as she watched him closely.

He hung his head. "I'm really very sor..."

"You did all that, the Death Eaters, Lily, the torture, the...the spying, so you could be with me again?" She asked, astounded.

He nodded his head in agreement. "I saw that in the future I was a miserable fool and that you hated me, but I feared one wrong move and I'd never see you again, so I took the deal"

Realization dawned on her; everything he'd gone through just so he'd know her, see her in this lifetime.

"Severus," she said rising with tears in her eyes to go around the desk and hug him.

"Please," he said putting up his hand to stop her forward motion. "I...we...can't."

"But you did all this so..." Hermione stammered.

"So I could be in your life, in some way," he said with feeling.

"I don't under..."

"The potion is stable and can be monitored by Madam Pomfey. Take it once a week until the end of the school year and you shouldn't have to do more than a booster potion once a year for the rest of your life."

"Thank you," she said. "But what does this have to do with..."

"Owl me," he said as he pushed a piece of parchment across the desk towards her. "I would like to know how you are, and about your life."

"That's...that's it for us?" She asked, blown away.

"For now," he said as he sat back against his chair. "You are young and have a world of possibilities before you. I want to know you better, but I also don't want to limit you...can we...can we be friends?"

"I...uh...Severus, what if I don't want this?" She asked.

"You do," he said with finality. "You just don't know it yet."

"I think I know..." she started, indignant.

"Please," he said in a whisper. "For both our sakes."

She looked at him, upset. He was saying goodbye and there wasn't a thing she could do about it.

"What if I want more?" She asked, awkward and yet bold.

"Give it some time," he said softly. "If in a few years you want to meet...we can."

She watched as he stood picking up a pile of books, minimizing them and placing them neatly in a box.

Before he could stop her, she had run into his arms and crushed herself against him. Reluctantly he hugged her back. He took a moment to memorize the feel of her against him one last time; the smell of her hair.

She cried in his arms and said she loved him. He squeezed her shoulder against him and said the muffled words she wanted to hear; the words he felt but didn't have the right to.

Sadly she departed his office and didn't look back


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who followed this little tale I wrote. This is the final chapter and I hope it satisfies most people. I appreciate all the reviews you wrote and tried to respond to them. It was my first venture into Time Travel fic and I loved the challenge. Thanks Again!**

Severus Snape used his wand to flick the sign from open to closed on the front door of his Apothecary Shop. It was his fortieth birthday and it had been a nice one. His shop, opened six months ago in Diagon Alley, was highly successful. He owled potion orders around the globe on a daily basis and, once word had got out that he was in business, it had not stopped. He was making a very good living, worked his own hours, hired assistants who didn't speak much, and even found himself pleasant with customers. Two years ago he wasn't sure where he'd end up.

He had left Hogwarts and Hermione on his 38th birthday and, besides a planned hike in the Highlands and some visits to relatives, he had no idea where his life would take him. Things had gotten mixed up when Hermione started her time travel and he found himself feeling things for a student, a young woman on the brink of her life, that he should not. What they had in 1977 was special, but he wasn't going to be an anchor around her neck in this lifetime. So he did what needed to be done, despite the breaking of his heart, the pounding in his chest, and the screaming voice in the back of his head, he left everything behind.

He spent a year and a half travelling. He hiked the beautiful Highlands, he travelled to Bavaria and collected rare potions ingredients from the woods, he spent four months dealing with his feelings of loss in Indonesia, he re-acquainted himself with distant relatives in Turkey, Wales and Kenya, and he visited the Mayan Ruins in the Americas. At the end of his travels, he was a happier man, richer for his experiences and knowledgeable of what he wanted and needed out of life. He opened the shop.

"I'm off Mr. Snape," Donny, one of his assistants, said as he fastened his cloak and looked outside at the lightly falling snow. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Donny," Severus said distractedly as he watched the snow fall outside.

The door opened and clanged shut with the bells ringing above.

His thoughts went to Hermione, as they often did. She was skiing in France this winter break, probably on her way back to Italy to begin her last term at university. She was studying transfiguration under the tutelage of a very famous professor who rarely took on student apprentices. She was enjoying her life.

They owled back and forth regularly but had not seen each other in two years. Their owls were friendly and casual, with only rare mentions of their life together in 1977. He told her about his travels and she, her studies and friends. He sensed that last summer she'd met someone and the relationship still continued, as her owls came a little less frequently and he could sense her hiding something from him in her words.

Severus swallowed hard. He was happy for her. What they had in 1977 was not meant to be in this time.

She had sent him birthday greetings this morning with a damn singing owl telegram that had left the three customers in his shop smiling at his reddened face. She sent the same thing every year and he loved it, despite his pretence of disdain for whoever might be around when it arrived.

The bells above the door clanged and Severus started to say "we're closed" when he looked up and words could not form in his mouth.

In the doorway to his shop, dressed in a blue ball gown with snow flakes sprinkled on her hair and dress was Hermione Granger.

He blinked three times, thinking it some twisted vision he was experiencing due to the inhalation of fumes from one of his potions.

"Happy birthday Severus," she said with a smile from ear to ear as she walked toward him.

"Happ...what...aren't you...?" He stammered as he watched the beautiful woman walk towards him.

"The singing owl was a ruse," she said softly as she rounded the corner of the counter he stood behind with his mouth gaping open. "I send them for every occasion and I didn't want you to be suspicious."

"Suspicious of what?" He finally managed to speak in a full sentence.

"Of me, coming here, to collect you," she said softly as her dress rustled against the counter.

She stood before him, close, looking up at his perplexed face. His breathing was quick, his face astonished, and his hands trembled.

"You and I are going dancing tonight," she said as she tentatively reached out a hand and touched the sweater covering his chest. "We are celebrating forty."

He shook his head in confusion. "Aren't you supposed to be going back to univer..."

"I'm done," she said with a smile. "My apprentiship ended a week ago, I'm fully qualified in Transfiguration."

"How? Don't you...?" He stammered again.

"Last summer I took on extra classes instead of taking the time off," she explained. "I'm sorry I lied to you about staying with my parents and working...I didn't want you to chastise me for pushing myself."

His brow furrowed in further confusion.

"I also took on two extra classes this term so I could finish everything at the end of December," she went on to explain. "I had a goal to be here for your birthday and I wasn't going to miss it."

"You've been planning this since last summer?" He asked, astounded.

"Finishing early, yes. Coming here like this? That's more recent," she smiled up at him, her face betraying her with a blush.

"Dancing?" He asked her as he felt her body lean in infinsimally towards his.

"You learned at the Death Eater balls," she explained. "And I liked being in your arms...it's been too long."

His eyes widened at her admission. In all their letters, not once had things veered into the romantic.

"I intend to take you dancing, woo you with my wit and charm, bed you before the night is through, and marry you in the morning," she said as her voice cracked with the words. For the first time since her arrival she appeared nervous.

He raised his eyebrows and gaped at her again. He must have heard her incorrectly.

"I've always loved you Severus Snape," she said softly as she looked into his eyes. "You were right though, we needed time in this lifetime to accomplish things without each other. But...but now..."

She reached forward and took his hand in hers.

"But now, I think we're both ready to have a life together...now is our time," she said softly as her eyes speared through into his heart.

Everything in his mind, body, and soul told him that she was right. With these thoughts racing through his head, he leaned forward and kissed her passionately. Pouring a lifetime of hope and dreams into their union, as hands clasped onto each other desperately, bodies moulded into the other, words of love were spoken between desperate kisses, and two hearts came together, once again.

**************THE END*****************


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